Daddy Dearest
by citysinger13
Summary: Logan's father abandoned the family when Logan was only a baby. Now he's back. Can Logan trust him, or is dad only around because of his son's fame? Rated T for possible language.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.**

"Here, let me get those for you Mama Knight," Logan offered, grabbing the stack of plates in his almost-mother's hands and taking them to the sink himself.

"Oh thank you Logan honey," Mama Knight said gratefully, sinking down in a chair as Logan turned on the water and started rinsing off the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. "I thought you'd run off with the rest of the boys as soon as you were done eating."

Logan smiled to himself as he placed a dish carefully in the dishwasher. "Well, I actually have some homework that I wanted to get done before the eleventh hour. The other guys are going to be up all night reading the history chapter we have to get done—that is, if they plan on reading it at all," he added with a snicker.

Mama Knight just smiled and shook her head. She watched Logan efficiently cleaning dishes and smiled a little wider. Not that the other boys didn't do their fair share of work—pop stars or not, all four of them still had their chores to do. But Logan was the one who would voluntarily help. Oh sure, sometimes Kendall would wash a dish after he was finished eating with it, but more often than not the dishes simply piled up in the sink, reaching overwhelming amounts that Mama Knight eventually had to do all herself.

She was incredibly thankful for Logan. He was the quiet, thoughtful one of the group. Sure, when he was with his friends he was as wild and crazy as the next seventeen-year-old boy, but by himself he was amazingly mature. Mama Knight couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous of Joanna, Logan's mother. Whenever all the moms had been spending time together, complaining about practically forcing their sons to help around the house, Joanna was always smiling serenely, somewhat amused. Logan always helped her out.

_Logan's such a sweet boy, _Mama Knight thought to herself. _Joanna's incredibly lucky to have him as a son._

Logan was thinking about his mother as well. He was thinking about how much this felt like being at home, doing the dishes for his mom. At the end of a long day showing houses, she had to come home and cook dinner and then do whatever other housework needed doing. It exhausted her and Logan, even from a young age, had been able to see that. So he'd do the dishes.

It seemed like such a little thing, but he knew it had meant the world to his mother. She always had felt like she wasn't doing enough for her son. He was always by himself. When they had moved to Minnesota when Logan was in third grade and he'd met the boys, she'd felt a little better. He had brothers, something he had always wanted.

As Logan got a little older, he started doing more for his mom, like vacuuming and cleaning the bathrooms. He even started cooking dinner some nights that he wasn't with his friends or at a late hockey practice. He had to look out for his mom. She only had him. And Logan actually liked it with just the two of them. That's the only way he ever remembered life, was him and his mom.

He had just finished putting all the dishes in the washer and was heading back to his bedroom to start on his homework when there was a knock on the door. Logan immediately went to answer it (despite all of his claims, he really didn't want to do his homework either).

Opening the door revealed a man in his early fifties, about the same height as Logan, with graying brown hair, with a beard. He was wearing a plain button down shirt and jeans—but they were nice jeans, ironed and everything. "Can I help you?" Logan asked. The man was staring at Logan with the oddest expression—he almost seemed shocked. "Sir?" Logan tried again.

The man at the door cleared his throat. "I'm sorry," he apologized, smiling and scratching at his beard almost nervously. "I…" He cleared his throat. "Logan?"

"Yes…" Logan answered slowly, feeling slightly nervous himself. "Can I help you?"

"Who is it, Logan sweetie?" Mama Knight asked, standing and walking to the door herself. When she caught sight of the man in the doorway, she paused. Walking slowly all the way to the door, she looked as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Christopher?" she finally asked hesitantly.

"Jennifer," the man whose name was apparently Christopher greeted her. He smiled and shook his head sadly. "It's been too long."

Mama Knight scoffed. "Well, that's not exactly the fault of anyone but yourself, Chris," she hissed, casting glances at Logan out of the corner of her eye. "What are you doing here?"

Christopher started to answer, but Logan cut him off. "I'm sorry," Logan cut in. "But I feel like I'm being left out of something here." He looked at Christopher again. "You know my name. You know Mrs. Knight. Should I know you too?"

With a sigh, Christopher shook his head and shrugged. "I suppose not. You haven't seen me for a long time…a very long time unfortunately."

Something about the man seemed familiar. Logan searched his memories for what it was and then it hit him. The photographs in the album he had found in the attic. The face he had pointed out to his mother. How she had smiled at her son while she answered, but frowned in her eyes.

"No…" Logan realized, staring at the man before him. "You're not…You can't be…You're…no…"

Christopher sighed again and smiled bitterly. "Yeah, Logan. I'm your dad."

**Just a very short introductory chapter. I hope it intrigues you! I love comments, favorites, follows, all of it! Thanks so much for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.**

**Special Disclaimer: So I try to keep my stories **_**very **_**closely factual to the actual series (it'd take a lot of convincing for me to do an AU story), but sometimes I get facts wrong. Please forgive me when this happens. If you see something, and I don't end up correcting it in a note in the next chapter, feel free to shoot me a PM so I can make a note of it. I really do spend a lot of time researching each little facet of Big Time Rush to make my stories factual—I go back and watch the tiniest clips of episodes to see exactly which direction James flips his hair or something like that. **

**So on that note, I'd like to notify you of a small change to facts. I know that on the show, Logan's real name is Hortense and Mrs. Diamond made the other guys call him Logan cause she didn't like the name Hortense. That's changed. His name is Logan. I'm not dealing with Hortense. I hate it. That will be true in all of my stories, just so you know, haha. Pretty much the only constant change for me.**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

Logan couldn't believe it. This man was his dad. His father. Ha, it would have been cool if he said "Logan, I am your father," with a Darth Vader voice or something. No. No actually it wouldn't have. Oh man, was Logan's head spinning. He was so confused. He felt himself getting a little bit light headed and weak-kneed…

Mama Knight grabbed Logan by the elbow as he started to sway a little. "Logan, honey!" she exclaimed, and guided him to a seat at the kitchen table. "It's okay. Just take a few deep breaths. You've just had a real shock." She shot an accusing look Christopher, who was half through the doorway, seemingly concerned about Logan's lapse in balance.

Taking a few deep breaths, Logan nodded slowly to let Mama Knight know he understood her words. "I-I'm fine, Mama Knight, really," he assured her after a couple brief seconds. "I just got a little…shocked. That's all." Logan was already embarrassed by his reaction. Had he really just nearly fainted? So lame.

Christopher cleared his throat and stepped fully into the apartment, obviously feeling awkward about lingering on the threshold. "Are you alright, Logan?" he asked hesitantly.

"I'm fine," Logan snapped, surprising himself. "I just said that."

With a nod, Christopher shuffled his feet and put his hands in his pockets. "Look, I know this is a real surprise to you…"

"Surprise?" Logan shot back, rising from his chair despite Mama Knight's hand that tried to keep him sitting. He had to be on the same level as this man. He wasn't going to be beneath him. "You left when I was six months old. _Six months_. You think you can just waltz in here seventeen years later and just say 'oh, this must be a _surprise_'?! You're crazy!"

"Logan…" Christopher tried to say, but Logan was having none of it. He was on a roll.

"I don't even _know _you!" Logan shouted, throwing his hands up and turning and paced away before running both hands through his hair and turning back. "Do you know for years I didn't know I even _had _a father? I barely understood the concept of one! When I was in kindergarten, and our teacher was talking about families and all that shit, and I had to ask her why, if the family in the picture had a daddy, why didn't my family have a daddy?" Logan laughed bitterly. "God, I will always remember that. That poor lady, having to explain that."

"Logan, I…"

"And when Mom explained it to me when I was older," Logan continued, running a hand through his hair again and gripping his scalp tightly. He was so wound up he felt like he was about to burst. "God, I didn't get it, I just didn't get it. 'But _why _did he leave Mom?' I'd ask her. 'Was it something _I _did?'" Logan shook his head and rubbed his eyes, which were burning for some odd reason. "And she'd always say 'No, he just had other things he had to do. He loved you so, so much.'"

"Logan, I do love—"

"Don't you dare!" Logan shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Christopher. "Don't you dare try to say you love me. You don't love me. You left me. You left me with Mom. Do you know how hard it was for her? You didn't even divorce her, you just left and never came back, isn't that right? You left her without giving her any sort of alimony or child support money or _anything_. I don't even _care _about you leaving me. I care about you leaving my mother alone!" Logan, to his horror, felt his voice catch on the last word.

He knew that if he said one more word, he'd start crying. So he settled for a glare filled with rage, and then left the room, not running away, but quickly enough. He heard both Christopher and Mama Knight call after him, but he ignored them.

He got to the room he shared with Kendall. After closing the door and locking it, he sat down shakily on his bed, finally letting loose the tears that had built up. They trickled silently down his face, and he wiped them away impatiently. He didn't even know why he was crying. He had never cried over this man—well, maybe once or twice in elementary school when some kid had made fun of him for not having a dad—this man was such an insignificant person to him, he didn't deserve any tears from Logan. Logan didn't even _know _this man. He was a stranger.

Not only that, but he was the worst kind of monster Logan had ever imagined. He had just _left_, leaving Logan and his mom. His mom and his dad were still _married_, for God's sake, they'd never gotten a divorce, just as Logan had said. Logan's mom had gotten no money from his dad. She'd supported Logan entirely by herself.

And that was how it was different for his mom from the other moms. Kendall didn't have a dad. His and Katie's dad had died of cancer years ago, back when Kendall was only twelve years old. His family received social security benefits. And Mrs. Diamond was a single mom, but she and James's dad were legitimately divorced—alimony and everything. And of course Carlos's parents were still happily married, he recalled bitterly.

As there was a distant roll of thunder outside, Logan felt a sudden wave of tears coming over him, and he drew his knees up to his chest, burying his face in them. He was still unsure of why he was crying, but now he didn't care. He just let the sorrow take him.

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

The rain had taken everyone at the pool by surprise—it was one of those rain storms that just appeared out of nowhere and ruined everything. Kendall sighed as he pressed the up button for the elevator, trying to tune out James's bitching about his lost tan time, or Carlos's whining that he'd barely even gotten in the pool.

"Look, guys, it's just a little thunderstorm," Kendall reasoned. "We'll play some video games instead, or dome hockey, or watch some TV…" The three stepped into the elevator, and Kendall pressed the button for the second floor.

"I guess so," Carlos muttered. The elevator got to their floor quickly and they all got off and made their way to the apartment. As they walked in, they were in the midst of a conversation on what they were going to do exactly and for a moment didn't notice the unusual man seated at the table with Mama Knight.

Kendall noticed first and stopped. "Um, hey," he said awkwardly, wondering if he had just run into his mom on a date. "Are we interrupting something…?"

"No, boys," Mama Knight said, sounding very tired and a little sad.

The man gestured towards the boys. "These must be the other boys?" Mama Knight, tight-lipped, simply nodded.

Kendall was wondering exactly how to act in this situation, but he decided that politeness was the best route. He stuck out his hand at the man, relieved that it was met with a ready handshake. "I'm Kendall. This is James, and Carlos." The other two boys offered their greeting as well. "You are…?"

With a sigh, the man gave a sad smile. "Well, here's where it gets a bit awkward." He cleared his throat. "I'm Christopher Mitchell." He watched as the name sunk in and then elaborated. "I'm Logan's dad."

"What?" Carlos blurted out, shocked. "Logan doesn't have a dad! His dad…his dad…" Carlos's eyes widened and he looked at James for guidance. James offered none, his face having changed from a charming smile to unresponsive steel as soon as the man's name was heard.

"Where's Logan?" Kendall immediately demanded of his mother.

"He went to your room," she told Kendall quietly. Kendall left the room so quickly he almost disappeared in thin air. James and Carlos were barely a second behind him.

When they reached the door, Kendall wasn't all that surprised to find it locked. He pulled on the doorknob anyway and slapped a hand against the door. "Logan, it's us," he called in. "Open up."

"Kendall?" came a voice so unlike Logan's that the other boys all cringed.

"Yeah, and me and Carlos too," James called in more quietly. "Can we come in?"

There was a bit of shuffling, the door clicked open, and Logan was standing in front of them. His cardigan was wrinkled and his eyes were red-rimmed from tears. The guys didn't waste a second. They hurried in to the room, Kendall immediately guiding Logan back to the bed and placing an arm around his shoulder, James sitting on the other side of him. Carlos relocked the door and took Logan's desk chair, sitting in it and leaning forward, resting his arms on his thighs.

"I guess you found out, huh?" Logan tried to joke, his voice a bit raspy from crying.

"Logan, I can't imagine…" James started to say, but trailed off. That was just it. He couldn't imagine what it was like for Logan to finally meet his father, and like this nonetheless.

"I just…" Logan said, dragging his arm across his eyes, rubbing away any remaining tears. "I don't want to talk about it. Not right now. Not yet." The other guys understood. With Logan, things took time to settle in. Too much too fast wasn't good for him.

So they merely sat there in companionable silence until Logan would be ready to explain the situation a little bit more.


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters**

Christopher Mitchell was still staring down the hall that the boys had raced down to find Logan. Their friend. His son. He looked back to Jennifer, noting how tightly her hands were clasped on the tabletop. "They really are that close, then?" he asked. "Just like Joanna and you and Brooke and Sylvia."

Jennifer allowed a small smile. "They're brothers," was her simple answer to that. "They need each other to survive, I think. I'd hate to think what they'd do if something happened to one of them." She sighed and, leaning back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest. "Chris, what's going on? What are you doing here?"

Staring down at his own hands, Chris could only shake his head. "I suppose you don't know a lot about what happened, do you?"

"Well, Joanna definitely didn't want to discuss it, even years later," Jennifer informed him. "After you left, she didn't even tell the rest of us. She would always be 'too busy' to talk. We didn't even know you'd left for a few months."

"She's a proud woman…" Chris sighed sadly. When Jennifer didn't seem to have any more to say, Chris gestured to the hall with a nod of his head. "Do you think he'll come back out at all?"

"Logan takes time," Jennifer told him. "He's a sweet, sensitive boy. He can't handle something like this all at once—something this huge. He's probably in shock. I swear I have never seen Logan as angry and fired up as he was when he was yelling at you." She fiddled with a thread on her shirt. "He's probably been holding all of that in for all these years—maybe without even knowing how resentful he was toward you."

Chris waited for a minute, and then spoke again. "I'd better be going, then," he murmured. "I probably should have…called or something first, to let him get used to the idea. Do you think…do you think I could have just a quick word with him before I leave? Just a quick one," he added quickly, sensing Jennifer's bristling.

There was a moment of complete silence. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Jennifer got up and walked down the hall, gesturing for Chris to follow.

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

All four heads shot up when the knock came on the door. "Logan, sweetie," came Mama Knight's voice. "Your dad—Chris. Chris wants a word with you before he leaves."

"Are you crazy?" James blurted out before Logan could say anything. "He has nothing to say to that rat bastard!"

"James!" Kendall hissed, not sure what he could really say about Chris himself, but knowing that his mother wouldn't take kindly to swearing.

"It's okay." All three boys swiveled their heads to stare at Logan in shock. He still hadn't said a word to the guys about what exactly had happened—they'd been sitting there only a few minutes. His voice, still quiet, was much steadier than it had been when he had let them in. He seemed to have gotten a hold on himself and the redness was almost gone from his eyes.

"You sure?" Carlos asked, concerned. When Logan nodded, Carlos glanced apprehensively at the other two.

Kendall shrugged. If he was willing to talk to the man again, it wasn't their place to stop him. He gave Logan an encouraging pat on the back as the poor kid took a deep breath before standing, walking to the door, and unlocking it.

Mama Knight was standing there, leaning against the doorframe. When she saw Logan, she couldn't hold back a sympathetic smile. Chris hovered in the background, a few steps further down the hall, again seeming to want to come closer but at the same time feeling that he shouldn't.

"What do you need?" Logan asked of him, keeping his voice bland and emotionless. The three boys in the bedroom all surreptitiously moved closer and closer to the doorway to be able to hear the conversation clearly.

"I'm gonna head on back to my hotel—I'm staying at the Holiday Inn a few streets away," he informed Logan, who gave no response at all. "Look, Logan," Christopher said with a sigh. "I want to talk to you. You deserve some answers. Meet me tomorrow at the bistro down the street—I'll buy you lunch and you can ask me questions, or we can just talk, or…hell, you can yell at me again for all I care. Just give me a chance to explain some things."

"He'll buy him lunch," James murmured in Kendall's ear. "Sure. That makes up for _seventeen years _of absolutely _nothing_." Kendall gestured for James to shut up.

It was silent as everyone waited for Logan to refuse. But that didn't happen. Logan hesitated and then nodded. "Alright."

"_What-?" _James started to shout, but Carlos and Kendall both immediately jumped on him, placing hands over his mouth.

Chris glanced over at the three boys in the bedroom, but other than a slight flinch ignored James's outburst. "Great," he said to Logan with a small smile. "I'll see you there around noon?"

Logan shook his head. "We're recording until one. I'll meet you then."

With a nod, Chris agreed. He paused, seeming like he might say something else, but then just nodded again. "Bye Logan. Jennifer," he gave her a nod and she gave a curt one in return. He then cleared his throat glancing back at the boys. "Kendall, James, Carlos." The boys offered him no farewells, Logan included. With that, Chris walked out of the apartment, Mama Knight showing him to the door.

As soon as the front door closed, Carlos and Kendall released James. "What are you doing, Logan?!" he exploded. "Why would you give that asshole the privilege to insert himself into your life like that?"

"I don't understand either, Logan," Kendall agreed, albeit he was much more gentle. "I thought you hated the man. You were so upset over even seeing him just five minutes ago. And now you want to have lunch with him?"

"You could have said no," James said stubbornly. "Why did you say yes?"

"Because I deserve some answers," Logan snapped at them. "He's offering me explanation. I won't listen to him try to excuse his behavior—if he tries that, I'll walk out. But if he's going to give me an honest answer to this question that's haunted me my whole life—why?—then I'm going to get it."

Mama Knight appeared down the hall again. "Logan, you don't have to go to lunch with him," she said as well. "You don't have to ever see him again if you don't want to."

"I do want to," Logan insisted. "I deserve my answers. I want them." He looked over at Mama Knight, realizing something. "Mama Knight, you knew him."

"Yes…" Mama Knight seemed confused as to where this was going.

"How'd you know him?" Logan asked. "He left when I was six months old, but I didn't move to Minnesota until third grade."

"Logan, sweetie, your mom and I have been friends since college," Mama Knight told him, sounding surprised that this was news to him. "Joanna, me, Sylvia, and Brooke, that's where we met—maybe as close as you boys."

"Really?" Logan asked. He shook his head. "My mother never mentioned you to me."

"Well," Mama Knight began with a sigh. "We went to college in Minnesota. Brooke, Sylvia, and I, we were from there, but your mom was from Texas. We all ended up becoming fast friends somehow—we lived on the same floor, two rooms side-by-side, me and Joanna, Sylvia and Brooke." Mama Knight smiled fondly at the memory. Then she frowned. "That's where Joanna met Chris."

With a sigh, Mama Knight gestured for the boys to follow her to the living room, which of course they did. Mama Knight disappeared into her room for a minute and came back out with a faded Polaroid. She held it out and the boys crowded around it. There were their mothers, all in their early twenties, posing for a picture on some sort of quadruple date. Mama Knight was with Mr. Knight, but Mrs. Diamond and Mrs. Garcia were with different boys—probably guys they were dating at the time. And there was indeed a young Chris Mitchell with his arm around Joanna's shoulders.

"He was such a nice guy," Mama Knight continued. "We all liked him. They got married right out of college. All three of us were at the wedding." Mama Knight smiled. "It was very beautiful. They were so young, but so, so in love." She sighed and pulled the picture back to study it herself. "After the wedding they decided they'd move to Texas to be closer to Joanna's family. Chris's parents already had died and he had no siblings or anything, so it was more logical at the time. It was hard," she recalled. "To say goodbye to her." The boys all shifted uneasily, each imagining what it would be like if one of them suddenly moved several states away. They couldn't imagine it.

"Anyway, we all got married in the next few years too," Mama Knight explained further. And it was such a surprise when each one of us were getting pregnant. Only a few months between all four of you boys." She smiled at them fondly. "We always did like doing things together. Joanna was always calling and letting us know how she was doing too. And when you were born Logan, oh she was so proud. She sent so many pictures. We kept saying we had to get all these boys together. They'd be best friends just like their mamas."

Then Mama Knight looked sad and troubled. "And then, Joanna dropped off the face of the planet." Mama Knight shook her head. "No, that's not entirely true. She just…she stopped seeming interested in talking to us. She wouldn't return phone calls for weeks, and then she'd come up with an excuse not to talk. She stopped sending pictures. We got worried. Eventually we dragged it out of her that your dad had left, Logan—she'd just woken up one morning to a note saying he was sorry. And he never came back."

Logan's blood ran hot at the mention of that. So there'd been a _note, _huh? He'd apologized, huh? Logan stowed away this information to throw in Chris's face at lunch tomorrow.

Mama Knight wasn't done yet. "We wanted to be with her so much," she whispered, sounding like there were tears in her voice. "We all wanted to go to her, or her come to us. But she'd just lost her dad a year ago, and she wasn't going to leave her mom, she insisted."

"Grandma died right before the end of second grade," Logan recalled. "And then in third grade…"

Mama Knight smiled. "And then in third grade you came to Minnesota and we were all so excited. We didn't have a chance to get together because you arrived only two days before school started, but we had big plans to get you boys all together—the other three were all best friends already." James, Kendall, and Carlos all smiled. They couldn't remember a time when they three hadn't been best friends. "And I was so surprised when who shows up with you, Kendall, after the first day? None other than Logan Mitchell." She smiled at him. "You boys were just drawn together I guess."

Mama Knight shook her head, realizing she had gone on a bit of a tangent. "But no matter how hard we tried, Joanna never explained anything about Chris leaving," she told Logan, getting back on track. "She just said that he had left, it was in the past, and she had been a single mother almost your whole life. She was…well, she said she was over it long ago and didn't need our help. So we let it be…but all three of us have always hoped she'd suddenly shed some light on what had happened to that young couple in love we had seen on their wedding day."

Logan just sat there a minute, perched on the back of the sectional. He seemed to be processing this information in that super-quick, super-smart brain of his. "I see," was all he came out with. He got up from his seat and ran a hand through his dark hair and then exhaled deeply. "I think I'm going to go and see Camille," he told them. "Maybe just…walk around a little. I just…I gotta think this through on my own first. No offense guys," he offered to his friends.

"Do whatever you want, Logan," Carlos said immediately, for once sounding mature and reasonable.

"We'll be here," James told him, having calmed down considerably during the story.

Logan gave them all a weak smile before he headed out.

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

He didn't go and see Camille. He'd never planned on it. He just didn't think Mama Knight would want him to do what he was planning on doing. He went to a remote part of the top floor of the building, where none of their friends lived, so he could have this conversation in semi-privacy.

Pressing the speed dial and then holding his phone up to his ear, he felt his heart racing as the phone rang once. Twice.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey Mom," Logan greeted grimly. "You'll never guess who showed up today…"


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.**

"You know, you don't have to do this," James reminded Logan as the four guys sat in the car on the way home from recording. Kendall was driving, with Carlos in the front seat, while James and Logan sat in the back. "You can go and tell him you've changed your mind, that you don't want to have lunch or talk to him. Or one of us can do it if you don't want to see him. Hell, you don't even need to tell him, you can just not show up. If he comes to the apartment or anything we'll take care of it. Logan," James said again, very seriously, looking his friend in the eye. "You don't owe him anything."

Logan looked back at James just as seriously. He still didn't understand. "No, I don't owe him anything," Logan agreed. "Of course I don't. _He _owes _me _something. A lot. And if I can get my closure on why he left, I'm going to get it."

"But-" James started up again, but was cut off by Kendall from the front.

"Leave him alone, James," Kendall admonished, glancing at the two in the rearview mirror. "This is his dad, his decision. Not yours."

James gave a deep sigh. "You're right. I'm sorry, Logan," he apologized. "I just…I mean…"

Logan gave a small smile to his friend. "I know. You just want me to be happy, and you think seeing Chris will make me upset. But I'd be even more upset if I'd known the answers to my life without a father were right here and I let them pass." James bit his lip and nodded, understanding but still fighting his protective nature that told him to simply forbid Logan from going.

Kendall pulled up in front of the restaurant where Chris was waiting to meet Logan. He turned around in his seat and gave Logan one of his half-smiles, the ones that said "I'm going to support you, but I'm worried about you the whole time". James simply clapped Logan on the shoulder, afraid if he said anything or really looked at Logan, he'd end up going into another tirade on how Logan didn't have to see his dad.

Logan gave them both encouraging smiles, and got out of the back seat. As he closed the door, Carlos finally looked up at him from his spot in the front. "Logan," Carlos said softly, sounding so unlike himself—so serious and mature—that Logan froze and listened. "Are you sure you'll be okay? Because I will go with you if you want."

Feeling his heart soar, Logan thought to himself how lucky he was to have such good friends as he did. "Thanks, Carlitos, but I'm good," Logan assured him. He ruffled Carlos's hair playfully. "I'll see you guys back at the Palm Woods." The guys nodded and waved half-heartedly as Logan turned and walked into the restaurant.

Carlos was very silent as Kendall put the car back in drive and pulled out on the street. As they were making a turn, he finally said, perhaps to himself, perhaps to the others, "That guy doesn't deserve to have such a great son."

"We know, buddy," Kendall sighed, not taking his eyes off the road, but nodding his head in agreement. "We know."

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

The restaurant was a little crowded, but the lunch rush was thinning out, now that it was after one, and Logan easily saw Chris, sitting in a booth near the front. With a deep breath, Logan walked over, sliding in across from Chris, who smiled at Logan. Logan kept his face neutral.

"Hey," he greeted Chris, unsure of how to start this conversation. "So…"

"Can I get you something to drink, sir?" a waitress had shown up at the table almost the instant Logan had arrived.

"Oh, just water, please," Logan told her. She smiled and came back quickly with a glass of water for Logan, and refilled Chris's glass of iced tea. When she was finally gone, Logan cleared his throat again, still unsure of what to say and surprised himself.

"I hope you weren't waiting long," he said awkwardly, unable to stop his natural politeness. "Gustavo—our producer—he kept us a little late to re-record some harmonies." In truth, it wasn't Gustavo's normal meanness and inability to be pleased with something first time around that had made them have to re-record. Logan had been so nervous about this lunch that he had been messing up left and right all morning.

"No, not too long," Chris said, fiddling with a sugar packet that he had just emptied into his tea. "So you were at work today, huh? Man," he sighed, shaking his head. "You can't imagine how surprised I was to find out that my kid was a popstar."

Something about that made Logan a little tense. "Yeah," was all he could reply.

"I'll be honest," Chris said, stirring his tea and taking a sip. "I had a suspicion that you wouldn't show up. That you'd decide you didn't want to see me."

Logan recalled how close he had come to actually making that decision. "I called Mom," he blurted out. Chris's eyes widened. "I mean…I called her and told her that you were here and you'd wanted to talk and…" Logan trailed off, unsure of where he was going.

"Joanna…" Chris murmured to himself. "How is she?"

"She's…she's good," Logan replied, surprised Chris was asking about her. He didn't care about her after all. He hadn't cared enough to stick around at least. "She's busy. Working." Logan stared down at the table. "She's always busy, you know."

"I figured," Chris replied sadly. "How'd she take it, that I was here?"

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey Mom," Logan greeted grimly. "You'll never guess who showed up today…"_

"_Who?" Mom asked, sounding intrigued but busy. Logan could hear her shuffling papers on her desk and the sound of someone talking in her office in the background._

"_Um…" Logan stammered, now not quite sure what to say. "Chris…you know…Chris Mitchell…" Logan only heard silence on the other end. "My dad," he finally said. Of course she knew who Chris Mitchell was, but he felt it had to be said._

_It was silent for a few more seconds. Logan grew concerned that his mother had fainted or something. "Mom?" he asked worriedly. "Mom, are you okay?"_

"_Oh, sweetie," Mom finally answered, and Logan let out a breath he had been holding. "Oh, Logie bear…I just…really? He's there?"_

"_Well, he's in LA," Logan clarified. "He just showed up at the apartment randomly, told me he was my dad, and then left a little bit later." Logan decided to leave out the part where he had shouted at his father and then cried like a baby in his room._

"_Is he okay?" Mom's question absolutely shocked Logan. "Did he look alright?"_

"_He looked _fine_, Mom," Logan answered, not bothering to keep the surprise out of his voice. "He…I mean, he looked like a normal guy. Like he looks in your wedding photos, except older." His mother's reaction was still puzzling him. "Mom, why would that be the first thing you asked?"_

"_I'm sorry, honey," she apologized, still sounding breathless and shocked. "Are _you_ okay?"_

_Logan threw his hands up in frustration. "I'm fine too, Mom!" he exclaimed. "I mean, yeah, I'm a little bit weirded out that this guy showed up on my doorstep and said he was my dad, but I'm fine." Logan paused. "He wants to have lunch tomorrow."_

"_Are you going to go?" _

"…_Yes."_

"_Good," was her reply, sounding genuine. "I think you and he have a lot to talk about."_

"_Mom…why did he leave in the first place?" Logan asked tentatively. He hadn't asked this question in years. _

_His mother sighed. "Sweetheart, I've told you. He had things-"_

"_Yeah, yeah," Logan cut her off. "He had things to do. Mom, no offense, but that's the answer you've been feeding me since I was five and let's be honest—we both know it's bullshit."_

"_Watch your mouth, Logan Henry Mitchell," his mother warned. _

"_Sorry," he apologized, not feeling so sorry. "But Mom. I know you must know something more. What were the things he had to do? Why is he back now?"_

_There was a long pause from his mother. "Logie bear, I think that…since Chris is there and everything…you can finally ask _him _those questions. He'll be able to answer them a lot better than I will. And I think you'll find you appreciate his answers more."_

_Logan hesitated before sighing. "Fine, Mom. I'll ask him. But someday I want to hear your side. The actual story. I'm grown up now—I'm not a five-year-old asking why I don't have a daddy. I'm a seventeen-year-old asking why my father left you."_

"_I promise you, honey, someday you will get the whole story."_

Logan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "She took it…surprisingly well. She…" Logan hesitated again. "She asked how you were."

"Really?" That seemed to surprise and please Chris. "God, it's been so long…"

"Yeah, no shit," Logan snapped. "Only about seventeen years. I would know."

Chris sighed guiltily. "I guess now's the part where we talk."

"I guess so."

Only it wasn't, because that dumb waitress showed up again asking for their food order. Fortunately, Logan had been here a couple times with Camille before, so he knew what he wanted to order already.

"I'll have the turkey sandwich with fries on the side," he told her, without even opening his menu.

Chris smiled. "I'll have the same." The waitress jotted that down and walked off to the kitchen. "I've heard that personal tastes are genetic," Chris commented. "Never really knew if that was true."

"Why'd you leave, Chris?" Logan asked, not calling him Dad. He hadn't earned the title 'Dad'.

Chris didn't seem offended by Logan's use of his first name. "Right down to it, huh…" Chris said to himself, and then took a deep breath. "Logan, I loved your mother. Hell, I still love your mother." Logan opened his mouth to protest this point, but Chris held up a hand. "Hold on now, you wanted to hear my story. I'm telling you that I love your mother. I know it's hard to believe but I do." He smiled a bit. "How could anyone not love your mother, Logan?"

Logan shut his mouth. Well, he had a point.

"I love her," Chris repeated. "And that's why I left."

"That makes absolutely no damned sense," Logan growled at him.

"Logan, I had some problems," Chris began. "It all started in college. You know college…I was in a fraternity, went to parties…there was a lot of drinking involved. You don't really think anything about it then, drinking is just something that college students do. And I felt like I was in control. I still managed to graduate and get a job and, hell, your mother agreed to marry me so I couldn't have done too badly."

Chris cleared his throat and took a sip from his drink before continuing. "After your mother and I got married, and we moved to Texas to be near her family…well, the drinking just got worse. I also started gambling…a lot. Your mother and I would have fights sometimes about me coming home drunk and broke after a night with my buddies. And gambling's illegal in Texas, I'll have you know," he told Logan. "That made it all the more worse."

He smiled. "But then we found out you were on the way Logan. You were just…a little miracle. I couldn't believe it when you were born. You were just…perfect. This perfect little boy. Everyone said you looked like me," he recalled proudly. "Although, you've grown up to look a bit more like Joanna, I think." He shook his head sadly as his smile faded. "I thought that you—my perfect son—would be the inspiration I needed to stop the drinking and the gambling. But I couldn't. I just couldn't."

Chris rubbed the back of his neck, pausing for a moment in his story. "And then…one night…you had just turned six months old…I came home from my buddy's poker game…stinking drunk, without the money I had left the house with…money that I had been supposed to spend on diapers for you," he said, with a hard tone. "Your mom was sitting up waiting for me and, God, I will never forget her face. She was so…not angry…she was…disappointed. Like she couldn't believe I had done this to her."

Logan nodded. He knew the _exact_ look that Chris was talking about.

"Anyway, we got into this huge, blow-out fight. She called me a drunkard, a booze-hound…some really creative names, really, I was impressed when I thought about it later. She said…she said I wasn't the man she thought she'd married…" Chris rubbed the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes against the painful memory. "God, Logan, I…I raised a hand to her. I was ready to hit her."

Flames flew up in Logan's body. He was enraged. "You _hit my mother?_" he hissed, not wanting to draw attention to the table. Although, if he flipped the table and punched his father he'd probably attract a little attention.

"I didn't," Chris denied. "I raised my hand. I was going to and then…God, I was horrified. She didn't move an inch but she looked at me, so…so _scared_. This was the woman I loved. She was scared of me. And Logan, I just saw my whole future pass before my eyes. Drinking and gambling our home away. Losing my job. Being a man who beats his wife, a father who'd end up hitting his child…I couldn't imagine ever hurting you, but I knew if I stayed in that house another night, I'd be a danger to Joanna, and to you when you grew up. I…I couldn't control myself when I'd been drinking. So…I left. After Joanna had gone to sleep, I packed a bag, wrote her a note…an apology…and I left."

Logan felt his rage subsiding, but he refused to feel pity. "Where did you go?"

"Oklahoma," Chris said glumly. "Where gambling _is _legal. I spent the next few years miserable and alone, drinking myself stupid every night." He fiddled with something on his hand, and Logan realized with a start that Chris still wore his wedding ring. "I was arrested for DUI twice. After the second…I checked myself into a rehab facility."

"Good," Logan found himself saying.

Chris nodded. "It was good. It was hard. I'd been an addict for…years and years…but I got out. I've been sober thirteen years now, Logan."

"So…" Logan struggled to find what he wanted to say. "So…why…if you were sober…why didn't you come back?"

"Come back?" Chris repeated. "I would have. I wanted to Logan, but I knew that I didn't deserve you guys. I'd abandoned you. You were four years old already. I'd missed so much. You wouldn't know who I was. And Joanna…how could I ever face her again?" He shook his head. "I knew it was better if I just stayed away. At least for a little bit longer. 'Maybe in a few years' I thought. 'After I've been clean for a few years, I'll go for a visit. Set up some sort of child support'. It was dumb, Logan, but I was afraid. I was afraid to go back.

"And then I did go back," Chris said, surprising Logan. "I went when you were nine years old—on your ninth birthday. I came up to the door, with…with a damn birthday present in my hand, like I knew what you'd want at all. Like it would make up for anything. And this woman I didn't know answered the door and told me that she'd just moved in, but yes, she had bought the house from a lady with a little boy…but no, they hadn't left a forwarding address." Chris hung his head. "I had no idea where she would have moved."

"Minnesota," Logan muttered.

"Looking back, it was obvious," Chris commented. "We'd gone to college there. The girls were there. Why didn't I think of going there? I probably did think of it. I just…I had gotten up all that courage to show up in Texas…and you weren't there. I thought it might have been…a sign. Some sort of message from God. I'd _just _barely missed you. Clearly I wasn't meant to see you…so…I chickened out and went home to Oklahoma.

"After a few years, I couldn't stand not knowing anything about you," he confessed. "I didn't even know what you looked like. So I googled you, hoping on the off chance maybe I'd find some class picture or something. And there you were, front page of your town newspaper, for winning some hockey game. You, the other three, and the rest of your team, but the article said you made the winning goal."

"I remember that," Logan said, astonished. "It was the only time I ever won the game for the team…Kendall was usually the big shot, but that time it was me…" He smiled faintly at the memory. "It was awesome."

"From then on, I kept checking on your school websites and the community news, to catch glimpses of you as you grew up. Things like when you were voted best student in eighth grade, or when you led the math team to regionals as a freshman…I would print out articles and keep them in a scrapbook."

Chris chuckled and shook his head. "And then…well, Logan, all of the sudden you stopped showing up on those websites. I thought for sure your mother had moved you guys again or something, but I noticed in the picture of the hockey team from your sophomore year on the website…none of the four of you were there.

"And then I saw an article about the four hockey players from that town who had hit it big as a _boy band _in LA." Chris ran a hand through his hair. "I couldn't believe it. My kid, a famous pop star." He smiled. "I have both of your albums you know. Multiple copies. I taped every interview and performance I could find." He fiddled with his wedding ring again. "I even went to the concert you had in Oklahoma City when you were on your USA tour."

Logan was startled. His father had been at his concert…he'd been that close to him. "If you knew where I was…even in Minnesota…" Logan said slowly. "Why did it take you so long to contact me?"

Chris shrugged. "Still afraid. Still felt like I didn't deserve a son so great. And when you came to LA, I definitely had no way to find you. It wasn't until I saw an interview with you guys that mentioned you lived at the Palm Woods. And then…I'm here."

"I see," Logan said slowly. He couldn't believe it. He believed Chris. "…but what do you want from me?"

"I want to be your friend, Logan," Chris explained. "If that's possible. I know w d won't have a dad and son relationship yet…but I was hoping we could talk sometimes. Go out to lunch. Things like this. Get to know each other. Something I should have done thirteen years ago."

Logan nodded slowly. He was unsure what exactly it was that made him accept. Chris's sad story. His own secret longing for a father. "We can…maybe talk a bit more," Logan allowed. "We can try."

Chris broke out into a smile. "That's all I can ask, Logan. Just give me a chance."

The waitress brought their food over then and, after setting it down, hesitated and turned to Logan. "I'm sorry, hon, are you one of those boys from the Big Time Rush? The boy band?"

Logan was surprised. This woman was around forty years old, not the usual woman he'd expect to be a fan. "Yeah, I am. My name's Logan."

"Oh, honey bear," the waitress exclaimed, breaking out in a smile. "My daughter is just the biggest fan. I hate to ask…but would you mind an autograph? Maybe a picture?"

"Sure thing!" Logan complied happily. He always agreed to an autograph and picture. He loved the fans. He quickly scrawled a signature on a blank piece of paper on the waitress's notepad. "Chris, can you take a picture of me with her?" he asked his father.

"Sure thing," Chris agreed, taking the woman's phone and snapping a picture of the two. He looked at it and smiled before handing it back to the waitress, who thanked Logan profusely and hurried off to her other table. "My son the pop star, huh?"

Something about that made Logan feel uneasy. "I guess so."

**Oh my God. It's long. I'm so brain dead. Thanks for sticking to the end of this chapter, I wouldn't blame you if you dropped off somewhere in the middle. There was a LOT of talking, but it had to be done.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I moved back to my dorm today! Yay! Classes start again Monday, which means audition day for me (Theatre majors unite!). Here's hoping I get some good roles! But that also means I might not get to post anything until next weekend sometime, so sorry in advance about the wait!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.**

Mama Knight walked into the apartment after putting a load of laundry in the washing machine downstairs. She was slightly (but not really, once she thought about it) to see Kendall, James, and Carlos sitting in the living room. The TV was on, but no one was really watching it. Carlos was sitting, hugging a throw pillow, staring at the wall next to the TV rather than the actual TV. Kendall was absentmindedly tossing a rubber band ball up and catching it again. James sat stoically, his arms folded across his chest, feet propped on the coffee table, staring at nothing, much like Carlos.

"What are you boys still doing inside?" Mama Knight questioned. "You got back from recording an hour ago. I saw Jo and Camille out by the pool. Shouldn't you be hanging out with them?"

"Logan should be back any time now," James responded, barely even giving Mama Knight a glance.

"Ah," Mama Knight hummed. "Well…go outside sometime, alright? You spent the whole day cooped up in a recording booth."

"When Logan gets here," was all that Carlos had to offer, also not really looking up at Mama Knight. Kendall caught the rubber band ball again, looked over at his mother, gave a sigh and shrug, and then went back to what he'd been doing.

Mama Knight barely left the room before the front door opened again. This time it was Logan. The other three all looked at him expectantly as he ambled over to them. "Well?" James finally cracked. "How was it?"

Logan shrugged, sitting down next to Kendall. "I mean…it was…good."

James and Carlos exchanged a shocked glance. "It was _good_?" Carlos asked, completely taken aback.

"Yeah…" Logan nodded. "I mean…we talked. He explained a lot of things." Logan then set to retelling his father's story.

"So wait," James interrupted as Logan was nearing the end. "He knew where you were living, what you were doing since sixth grade, but he didn't care enough to contact you until now?"

"He said he felt too guilty," Logan said again with a shrug.

"It just seems kind of suspicious to me that your long lost father didn't come back into the picture until you were rich and famous in Los Angeles." James shrugged and flipped his hair out of his eyes. "That's just me."

Logan was stunned. "Are you trying to say that my dad is taking _advantage _of me?"

"Well, it sure does look that way, doesn't it?"

"What he means," Carlos jumped in. "Is that it's a little bit weird that you became famous before he contacted you. But it probably means nothing."

"No, that's not what I was saying, Carlos, I was saying that I think Logan's dad is a scumbag."

"Hey!" Logan exclaimed. "Knock it off!"

"Are you _defending _him?" James was shocked. "How can you be defending him?"

"To me, what he said…I don't know, it made sense to me, alright?" Logan snapped. "He wants to be friends. He wants to get to know each other. What's so bad about that?"

"What's bad about that is that he doesn't give two shits about you, Logan!" James shouted. "He's going to use you and your fame and money!" James glared at Logan and folded his arms across his chest. "I don't think you should see him again."

"That's not your choice!" Logan shouted back.

"James, Logan, calm down," Carlos tried to restore peace.

"He's going to be an idiot and let his no-account father hurt him!" James yelled.

"What's so wrong about wanting to have Chris around?" Logan shot back.

"Both of you shut up!" Carlos, Logan, and James all turned to see Kendall, whom they had sort of forgotten was there. He was sitting up perfectly straight, staring right at them. "James! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me is that Logan is making a huge mistake by taking this guy back-"

"How the _fuck_ would you know that that is a mistake, James?" Kendall exclaimed. "He wants his father in his life. Can you really blame him? You have _no idea _what it is to grow up without a dad. Yeah, your parents are divorced, but you see your dad all the time. Logan has never _ever _had what you have. He's getting a second chance. And I…" Kendall's voice wavered a little bit and he cleared his throat to bring it back to normal. "I would give anything to have a second chance with my dad."

They were all silent as the memory of Mr. Knight's death fell upon them all. Kendall had grown up almost overnight. He'd only been a boy at twelve, and he'd still needed a father.

Kendall cleared his throat again and looked at Logan steadily. "Logan, if you want to have this chance with your dad…I say you should. Because you never know when it might be too late. And then you might regret not taking your chances when you could."

Logan nodded. Kendall didn't have quite the same situation—after all, he'd known and loved his father for the twelve years he'd been able—but he still understood better than the other two. "Thanks, buddy," Logan said softly.

James looked a little bit guilty and taken aback by Kendall's speech. "Logan…I'm sorry," he forced out, sounding almost genuinely sorry. "I don't mean to be…unsupportive. I just…" He sighed angrily. "I just don't want to see you put any hopes in this guy and then get them crushed."

Logan gave his friend a small smile. God, everyone was always so wrong about James. They wrote him off as the pretty-boy, narcissistic, couldn't-care-less member of the group. In fact, he was one of the most caring, sensitive people Logan knew. He was always doing things like this—almost smothering people in order to protect them.

"Thanks, James," Logan thanked him. "I know that you don't want me to get hurt. But…I have to give him a chance. After talking him today, I have to give him a chance."

"I gotcha," James replied. "I'll be there for you. Always, man, you know that."

Carlos smiled and looked back and forth between the two of them. "Is it bro-hug time now?" he said excitedly. "I love bro-hug time!"

Logan broke out in a grin. "Come 'ere, you big doofs," he said rolling his eyes and opening his arms to receive both James and Carlos. After a minute, Kendall joined in.

Mama Knight walked in at the moment and couldn't help herself. "Awww," she cooed. The boys all flew apart. "Sorry! You're all just so cute! My baby boys…" She smiled and sniffled a little bit.

"Hey, uh, Mama Knight…" Logan began, standing up. "I was wondering if…well…if Chris could come over for dinner this week."

Kendall glanced at James immediately. He saw that the brunette's eyes had widened…but, to his credit, he remained silent.

Mama Knight seemed conflicted. "Well…sweetie…I don't know."

Logan thought he may know why she was hesitating. "I called my mom," he told her, giving a bit of a surprise to everyone. "I told her that Chris was here. She said she wanted me to get to know him. And…" Logan added, glancing back over at his friends. "If I'm going to know him, these guys have got to know him too."

Letting out a breath of air, Mama Knight gave a half-hearted smile. "All right then. I mean…if Joanna wants you to get to know the man…I shouldn't stand in your way."

"Thanks, Mama Knight." Logan felt like he was on display suddenly. "So, are we gonna go to the pool or what?" he asked the guys, partly just to relieve the tension.

Carlos bounded up from the couch and to his room to change, already back to his old self. Kendall and James also went, more slowly, but with enthusiasm too. Logan gave Mama Knight a quick hug and then followed after Kendall to their room.

"So…" Logan said after a few moments of them changing clothes in silence. "Thanks for…sticking up for me in there."

Kendall finished pulling on his white t-shirt and then clapped Logan on the shoulder. "No problem, Logan. You know I've always got your back."

That was all that had to be said between the two.

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

As the guys exited out the building to the pool, several people called greetings to them. Jo and Camille were laying out in chairs side by side, chatting, but both immediately got up to greet their respective boyfriends.

"Hey, you," Jo said to Kendall in a flirty tone, cupping a hand on his cheek as they moved together for a quick kiss. "Where have you been? I thought you got off at one?"

"We waited for Logan," Kendall explained, putting an arm around her shoulders while James and Carlos started setting their stuff down in the chairs by the girls' and stripping off their t-shirts.

Logan glanced at Camille. He had gone and talked to her after calling his mom yesterday, and told her about his father coming around. She had been supportive of his choice to see his father again. "You didn't tell Jo?"

Camille looked incredulous. "Of course not! You didn't tell me I could tell people."

"Tell me what?" Jo asked, looking suspicious.

"I mean, it's not a secret," Logan commented, but with a grin. "Thanks, though." It was nice to know his girlfriend was so trustworthy, even when he hadn't said something was a secret.

"What's up?" Jo inquired again.

"My dad…he, uh, kind of showed up at the apartment yesterday. I haven't seen him in…oh, seventeen years," Logan explained.

Jo let out a breath of air. "Oh wow. How was that?"

"Uh…at the time?" Logan chuckled. "Pretty horrible. But we had lunch today and…well it looks like maybe we can be friends someday."

"That's great," Camille smiled, slipping her hand in Logan's and giving it a squeeze.

"C'mon, Kendall!" Carlos called before pushing James into the pool and then jumped in after him, whooping. Kendall went towards the pool, Jo going along with him, leaving Logan with Camille.

"Tell me about lunch," Camille suggested, sitting back down on her lounge chair and sitting cross-legged near the top. Logan mirrored her, cross-legged near the end of the chair, facing her.

"It was good, like I said," Logan told her, and again retold the tale his father had told him. Camille, unlike James, did not interrupt at any point, only sat there, smiling and nodding pleasantly.

When he was finished, she smiled some more. "That's really great, Logan. I really do hope you two can become friends."

He couldn't help but ask. "You don't think it's weird that he didn't contact me until I was famous?"

Camille shook her head. "No, not really."

Logan was relieved. "Oh good. I mean, James thought that Chris was all for taking advantage of my fame and everything and…I don't know, I mean, I guess that makes a little sense, you know? But…he is my father. And I…well, I want to get to know him."

Camille hesitated. "Yeah. I mean, I guess it is a little weird, but you know, maybe it had more to do with how old you were. Like, he thought you wouldn't be able to handle him coming back to your life until you were fifteen or sixteen—you know, almost a grown-up. But by then, you'd already moved to California and, like he said, he didn't know how to get into contact with you."

"I guess that makes sense," Logan agreed, nodding. Camille smiled and leaned in to kiss him. Their lips were just meeting when…

_SPLASH!_

Camille shrieked as Logan suddenly found himself completely _drenched _in liquid. He shook water from his hair, wiped it from his eyes, sputtering and shaking. He slowly became aware of some hysterical laughter behind him. He turned around to see…yup, there was the guilty Carlos standing with a (now empty) bucket, and Kendall and James watching and laughing from the edge of the pool.

Logan wiped more water from his eyes. "Oh you are _so _dead, Carlitos!" he exclaimed, standing up and pulling off his t-shirt. Carlos immediately ran and jumped in the pool, Logan chasing closely after him.

**Love you all! Hope you enjoyed the chapter—let me know by leaving a comment!**


	6. Chapter 6

**So I did get cast in a mainstage show for this semester, being directed by a guest director who is actually a successful and famous PLAYWRIGHT from NEW YORK CITY. I'm very excited but I'm also going to be very busy for the next month and a half or so. So don't be too disappointed about the lack of updates. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.**

Logan glanced from Chris to Mama Knight to James to Kendall to Carlos and then back over to Chris. The polite conversation that had been going on (Weather, traffic, etc) had run dry and there was an awkward lull in talking that everyone tried to fill by stuffing themselves with the meatloaf and mashed potatoes that Mama Knight had made.

Clearing his throat, Logan made another stab at conversation. "So, did you hear that Camille got a part?"

"Well, that's great," Mama Knight smiled. She felt bad at how hard Logan was trying. "What is it?"

"A small role on a new TV show that's going up in the pilot season," Logan continued, thankful that someone had responded. "It's only set as a one-time part, but Camille thinks if she really does well, then she has a shot at making it recurring."

"Camille's your girlfriend, right?" Chris clarified.

"Yeah," Logan said, smiling a little at the thought of Camille.

"And she's an actress." When Logan confirmed that too, Chris just shook his head and smiled. "Gosh, all these kids out here with such successful careers. I mean, you guys are world famous, your girlfriend is an actress on TV…"

"Kendall's girlfriend Jo is on New Town High," Logan added, glancing over at Kendall. He told Chris this nervously—the guys had yet to even really talk to Chris, excepting a 'hello' when he arrived.

"Is she?" Chris asked Kendall who, after a moment's hesitation, nodded.

"Yeah," Kendall answered. "She plays Rachael. She left for a while to do a movie, but it didn't work out, so they brought her character back."

"Well that's interesting," Chris commented, giving a friendly smile to Kendall who, after a moment, returned it weakly. "How about you two boys?" Chris asked Carlos and James. "Do you have girls?"

Carlos shrugged meekly, while James stared down at his plate and pushed his mashed potatoes around. When a glance at James told that he wasn't going to say anything, Carlos jumped in to fill the silence. "Um, I don't really have a girlfriend, _exactly_," he hemmed, giving a half-hearted gesture. "I mean…I used to go with this girl, Stephanie, but she got a job working as a junior production assistant for a movie shooting in Chicago, so she'll be gone another couple months still, and…well…" he trailed off. "Yeah."

James shoved some more meatloaf into his mouth, still not looking directly at Chris, but being careful not to be rude enough to be admonished.

Logan flailed again for another conversation topic. His quick-thinking brain, panicking under the pressure of the situation, was failing him. He looked desperately to Kendall for help.

Kendall, understanding Logan's plea, jumped in with something. "So, Mom, Gustavo got us booked for the music festival this weekend."

Mama Knight looked incredibly pleased. "Really? That's great! I know you boys were hoping for that."

"Yeah, we're performing three songs on Saturday," Logan picked up, tossing Kendall a grateful look.

"A music festival, huh?" Chris said, taking a sip of his water. "That'll be fun, won't it?"

"Oh, they're super fun!" Carlos exclaimed, forgetting all his inhibitions about who he was speaking to and just grinning away. "I mean, we get to perform, see a bunch of the fans, then we get to chill out and enjoy the music too. It's really great." Carlos was so excited by the mention of the festival, he didn't notice the subtle dirty look James gave him out of the corner of his eye.

"You should come, Chris," Logan suddenly said, surprising himself. "I mean…come see us perform. Like Carlos said…it's a lot of fun…well, I mean…are you into music?"

Chris smiled. "I do like music, Logan, yes. And I'm always interested in seeing my son onstage. I'd love to come."

Logan felt a small grin come across his face and he glanced at Kendall and Carlos, who offered smiles of their own. James wouldn't meet Logan's eyes, causing Logan's smile to fade slowly away.

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

Late that night, past one in the morning, it was dark and quiet in James and Carlos's little room. The boys both lay in their beds. They had been in bed for more than an hour, but James was still awake, staring up at the ceiling above his bed. His arms were folded across his chest and his feet twisted in the covers, fighting his instinct to get up and walk about the room, for fear of waking Carlos.

However, the fear seemed to be unnecessary. "James?" It gave James a start to hear the voice of Carlos from the other side of the room. He had thought the boy long asleep, but Carlos didn't sound groggy or anything.

"What is it, Carlos?" James asked wearily, wondering if he was about to be regaled with some tale about a time back in Minnesota or hear about some girl that Carlos was crushing on, as often happened when Carlos couldn't sleep.

"Why are you doing this to Logan?"

The question shocked James. He sat up and flicked on the lamp by his bedside. He saw Carlos sit up in bed as well, turning on to his side and supporting himself on one arm to face James. "What do you mean?" James asked incredulously. "I'm not doing anything! I haven't snapped at him or anything! I sat there all through that damn dinner with his damned father and didn't say a single mean word! I didn't even say anything when he invited his dad to our concert!"

"Exactly," Carlos said. "You aren't speaking to Logan. Have you noticed that?"

"I am so-" James started to object, but then slowly realized that it might be a bit true. He had been so busy trying not to be rude to Logan that he had simply stopped talking to him at all. Oh God, Carlos was right. When did that ever happen?

James had this problem. He couldn't admit that he was wrong, ever. "Carlos, don't be stupid," he snapped at his younger friend. "I'm being supportive of Logan. God, you guys get pissed off about me not being supportive and shouting at him, and then when I support him you _still _get pissed? What is this?"

"Don't call me _stupid,_" Carlos snarled. "You know I hate it when you do that."

James did know that, and he felt awful. But he was so angry at the moment. "Well then stop _acting _stupid, Carlos!" he shouted, forgetting that it was 1:30 AM and people were sleeping in the apartment. "You always make big deals out of little things, you never think before you speak, and now you're thinking you can run around with a better-than-you attitude with me? Think again!"

"Shut up, James!" Carlos yelled back, throwing back the covers and getting out of bed. "I'm not making a big deal out of a little thing, you're being _mean_ to Logan and I'm not going to sit here and let you!"

James got out of bed as well. He loomed over Carlos, six inches taller, but Carlos didn't even flinch. "I am not doing anything to Logan, and you know it!"

"Why won't you just care about someone other than yourself for once?" Carlos exclaimed, giving James a small, but rough shove. "You're not even thinking about how you might be hurting Logan, you're only thinking about _yourself_!"

"You _know _that's not true!" James yelled, shoving Carlos back. Carlos again shoved James and the boys broke out into a scuffle just as the door to their room opened and the overhead light flicked on.

"Carlos! James!"

"Guys! Stop! What are you doing? Stop it!"

"Guys! GUYS! STOP!" The fighting boys felt themselves being forcibly pulled apart. Kendall had James firmly in his grasp, while Logan restrained the fiery Carlos.

"What in the hell are you guys yelling about?" Kendall hissed. "I'm sure my mother's on her way in here right now."

Right on cue, Mama Knight appeared in the doorway, Katie half a second behind her. "What are you boys doing?" she shouted. "Was someone fighting?"

James and Carlos both started shouting at the same time, all the while trying to fight off their respective holders in order to get back to each other.

"Hey!" Mama Knight exclaimed. "Stop it! Both of you stop it!" She clapped her hands. "All of you, in the living room, _NOW!" _

All four boys immediately froze in fear for a moment. A pointed look from Mama Knight sent them shuffling off to the living room couch. Kendall and Logan pointedly sat between James and Carlos.

Mama Knight, after sending a protesting Katie back to bed, came to stand in front of them, arms folded across her chest. "What," she hissed angrily, "is this all about?"

"James has been ignoring Logan, and I just wanted to know why," Carlos explained furiously. "He flew off the handle, started calling names, and turned it into a fight."

"That is so not true," James denied hotly. "Carlos _accused _me of ignoring Logan and I tried to explain that I wasn't. Logan, am I ignoring you?" This last sentence was shot angrily at the bewildered Logan, who sat with wide eyes and an extreme case of bedhead next to James.

"I…uh…" Logan murmured, fiddling with his ear as he did when he was nervous. "I mean…yeah, James, you have. You've barely said three words to me since Tuesday."

James bit his lip and glanced at the floor. So yes, he had been, just as Carlos had said. He hadn't meant to. He was sorry. Did he say this? No.

"I have not," he denied again. "I have been trying my best not to get angry about your father. I sat through that dinner and made pleasant conversation-"

"You did not say a fucking word to Mr. Mitchell!" Carlos exploded.

"Language!" Mama Knight snapped at Carlos.

"James," Kendall said tiredly. "We all know about your dislike of Mr. Mitchell, okay? You don't have to like him. No one said you did. Logan didn't say that. But you can't transfer that disdain to Logan. You're so upset about Mr. Mitchell trying to be in Logan's life again that you got angry at Logan. And when you were called out on that, you just shut down and wouldn't _talk _to Logan."

James twiddled his thumbs, feeling the shame of his actions rushing to meet him. "I'm sorry," he finally apologized. "Logan…when I said I was going to be supportive, and that I'd be there for you…I really meant it. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do, buddy," Logan said softly.

"But every time since then that you'd mention…that _guy_, I just kept thinking what a horrible idea it was. But I didn't want to say that to you again, because I knew it'd hurt your feelings. So, I've just been trying to keep my mouth shut. That's not so bad is it?"

"James, don't make me choose between you or Chris," Logan asked. "I want to get to know him. The more time I spend with him the more I think he and I can become friends someday. But I could never lose you just because of Chris. I'd choose you any time, you know that right?"

James glanced up. "Really?"

"Of course!" Logan assured him with a smile. "James…you've always been like a dad to me, you know that? You've always been the one who would protect me from bullies or give me girl advice…you've always been there for me. I couldn't manage without you. So…don't make me try, okay?"

James smiled at Logan. "Okay." James and Logan hugged, and were soon joined by the other two. They were all friends again.

**It's a horrible ending, but I just had to get this done! I mean, it's ridiculous how long I've made you wait on this. I'm so sorry. I hope you enjoyed it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters**

"This way…this way, boys."

"Excuse us."

"_There they are!"_

"_I see them!"_

"Right through here, boys."

"_Hi Kendall! Hi James!"_

James flashed a smile and a peace sign at the bit of the crowd that could see the guys as they were led to their outdoor dressing room/tent thing behind the stage at the music festival. They'd had a successful sound check that morning and were going on for their performance in less than an hour. Already, fans were staking out spots to see the boys perform.

Carlos was the last in to the room/tent, and a security guard closed the curtained doors and stood guard outside to prevent exuberant fans from getting in. "Woo!" Carlos exhaled, throwing himself onto the cushy, worn-out couch that was set up in the tent. "It is _hot_!" He fanned himself with the paper he had in his hand, which happened to be a copy of the boys' set list.

"Yep," Kendall agreed, immediately heading to the cooler in the corner. Inside it was full of ice and water bottles—perfect, because the temperature was somewhere around 95 degrees. He grabbed a few and started handing them around, to the guys and to their band members who were sharing the dressing room with them.

The security guard poked his head in. "Logan, a guy out here asking for you? Says he's your dad."

Logan got up from the folding chair he had just settled down in. Outside, waving at him, was Chris. "Hey! Chris!" Logan nodded at the guard and gestured that he let Chris in, which he did. Chris stepped in, putting his hands in the pockets of his shorts and glancing around.

"I just wanted to say hey before you guys went on," Chris told him. "Hey, Kendall, Carlos, James," he greeted the other three as well. They all mumbled replies, even James.

"Hey, I don't think you've met our band before, Chris," Logan realized. "This is Dustin, our guitar player…" Logan went around introducing them all to Chris and soon everyone was familiar. For a while, there was easy chatting going on. Kendall and Carlos seemed so much easier around Chris now, and even James added in a few words here and there—he'd even cracked a smile when Chris mentioned that there were two girls outside with posters asking James to marry them.

Soon, though, Logan looked at his watch and realized how close it was to go-time. "Hey, Chris, the show'll be starting soon," he told his father. "It's open seating—I can get Brett or another security guy to get you a place in front."

Chris shook his head. "Oh no," he said, waving that offer off. "Leave the front for your fans. Not that I'm not a huge fan of you kids, but I get to see you other times—let these girls have their moment standing that near you. Have a great show, all of ya." Logan grinned and nodded as his dad clapped him on the shoulder and left.

Kendall cleared his throat and shrugged, smiling despite himself. "Well…Logan…I kind of like him."

"Really?" Logan said, another smile creeping to his face. "That's great! I'm glad."

"I think he's pretty cool too," Carlos admitted. "I mean…he's a nice guy."

Dustin and the other guys of the band murmured agreements as well. Logan nodded and grinned and then turned slowly to face James. The tall brunette seemed to be deep in thought, biting his lip and staring at his converse. Logan waited eagerly for James to say that he liked Chris too.

"I don't know," was what James came out with. "I just…I don't know."

Logan felt his face fall. "That's…it's cool, James," he said flatly. "Thanks for being honest." Logan stood up from his spot on the couch abruptly. "I'm gonna hit the bathroom before the show." He quickly exited the tent and one of the security guys escorted him to the VIP restroom that was only a little ways away. As he walked outside, the heat of the sun reminded him he really should get some water before the show started.

Inside the tent, James watched as Logan left. He felt guilty—he wanted to like Logan's dad, because he knew it would make Logan happy. But he just couldn't somehow. He had issues trusting people. Ever since James had been a little kid and his parents had gotten divorced because of his own father's infidelity, he had had trouble believing people. _The worst thing a person could do_, James thought, _was lie to someone. People have no way to tell if you're lying._

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

Logan ducked back inside the tent, sweating from just the walk to the bathroom. "It is _hot _out there," he said, fanning himself with his hand. "Hey Kendall, pass me-." Logan was cut off as Kelly rushed in with a stage hand.

"Guys, onstage!" she exclaimed. "You go on in one minute! The pre-show is almost over!"

"Oh, crap," Logan murmured, forgetting about getting any water and grabbing his mic and in-ear from the stage hand, worrying too much about plugging things in to be thirsty as he took the steps to the stage two at a time, the other guys close behind.

They got there just in time to hear their names being announced. All four of them were bouncing up and down, stretching, waving out their hands, getting loose and ready for the show. They were starting with "Nothing Even Matters."

The band had gone to the stage ahead of them, and now the music started. The guys all exchanged grins and headed out onstage to a screaming crowd. Logan grinned as he took in all the homemade signs flying over the audience and the girls pressed up against the stage barriers, hands out, hoping to touch one of the boys.

_Hey!_

_Cuz the world stops when I put my arms around ya, around ya (Oh whoa)_

_And nothin' even matters (Hey!)_

_And nothin' even matters (Hey!)_

This was Logan's big song. He sang lead in it. The fan were absolutely going crazy and loving it. The choreography was going perfectly. The band was awesome. The guys were singing great. It wasn't until the end of the song that Logan started feeling odd.

It occurred to him that he should have grabbed some water before they had gone onstage—he had hardly had anything to drink all day, he'd kept getting distracted by everything going on. His throat was parched. He knew he was dehydrated—probably too dehydrated to be performing like he was but, hey, they were only singing three songs, and one was already over. He could make it through.

Plus, this next song they were sitting down anyway. They each brought out a barstool and then they performed "No Idea." But Logan still felt queasy and shaky after that one, even more perhaps. Even though he wasn't dancing around the stage, he was now sitting directly in the sun and it was merciless in beating down on him. He felt himself sweating buckets, but promised himself he could push through the last song.

As he placed his bar stool by the back of the stage, he grabbed a water bottle from where it sat on the ground and took the quickest sip possible. It was warm, but it was so refreshing and it moistened his dry mouth and throat. There, that should let him make it through the last song. He heard the opening notes of "Superstar" playing and he rushed to his spot.

No…no, that water hadn't helped much. Logan gradually noticed that things were getting fuzzier. He squinted as he maneuvered the tough choreography and sang the demanding song. He wasn't sure he could keep holding on. But he kept stumbling through the number. Kendall noticed—Logan bumped into him once and Kendall grabbed his arm, and the split second their eyes had met Logan had seen them to be full of concern. Logan just shook his head and they continued on with the song. He could make it through and then throw up backstage or something.

At the end of the bridge, Logan came to what he'd been dreading—his and James's backflips. He prepped as well as he could, but knew as soon as he pushed off the ground he wasn't going to be all right. He landed okay, his feet landing squarely on the stage, but his legs refused to support him. He stumbled to his hands and knees. The first few rows gasped and then the rest of the crowd as well as Logan fell the rest of the way and didn't get back up.

Everything was slowly going black. The music stopped and he heard Kendall shouting to the stage hands as Carlos and James kneeled by his side. And then, everything was black and he fell into unawareness.


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.**

_Kendall_

Kendall had immediately jumped into action. As soon as he had realized Logan—in his obviously diminished state—was going to attempt to pull off that backflip, he'd known something awful was probably going to happen. However, he'd imagined Logan falling or stumbling or twisting his ankle. He hadn't seen Logan's passing out as a possibility.

However, it had happened, and Kendall had no time to stand there gaping. When Logan fell to the stage floor, he immediately ripped out his in-ear and started shouting offstage. "Hey! We need some help out here!" Stage hands immediately came running while more people still got on walkie-talkies.

Kelly ran to the stage, her high heels and short skirt restricting her somewhat. "What happened? What happened?" Gustavo came up close behind her, visibly sweating in the heat.

"Is he all right?" Gustavo demanded, pushing his way to the side of the stage hands. "Dog! Logan! Are you okay?"

Kendall, meanwhile, had taken a spot by Logan, across from where James was kneeling and grasping Logan's hand. He put the small, fragile boy's head in his lap and placed a hand on his cheeks. "Lord, he's completely overheated. I knew something was wrong. I knew he wasn't doing well."

_James_

Logan's fall had totally shocked James. He had been the last to react, actually—he and Logan had done backflips at the same time, and while Logan had stumbled, James had landed his and immediately gone on with the song. James had seen the girls in the front row gasp in horror and had turned in time to see Logan slump the rest of the way to the floor.

He automatically ran to his friend's side and kneeled beside him. "Logan!" he exclaimed. "Oh, God, what happened?" James demanded of Carlos, who'd just kneeled beside him. "Did he hit his head? Or hurt himself? Logan!" James tried to give Logan's arm a gentle shake.

"He just fell, maybe he's got heat stroke?" Carlos said back to James. As stage hands were running in to Logan's side at Kendall's shouts, Carlos was somehow pushed aside. James stayed put, his hand holding Logan's firmly.

Gustavo was shouting right behind James. "Is he all right?" was what he kept yelling. "Dog! Logan! Are you okay?" In the background, James heard Carlos saying something into his microphone to the crowd.

Kendall had taken Logan's head in his lap. "Lord, he's completely overheated," Kendall breathed as he placed a hand on the kid's bright red cheek. "I knew something was wrong. I knew he wasn't doing well."

_Carlos_

Carlos, having almost always been the furthest away from Logan during all three songs, had not seen Logan struggling at all. Therefore, Logan's swoon seemed so sudden and unexpected to him. "Logan!" he'd blurted out as soon as Logan fell to his knees after the backflip. Not even worrying about the song, Carlos had stood frozen where he was and watched, terrified, as Logan slowly crumpled to the floor of the stage.

Kendall's shouts had woken Carlos from his shock. He reached poor Logan's side just as James did. "Oh God, what happened?" James asked as soon as Carlos was there. "Did he hit his head? Or hurt himself?" James gave Logan's arm a little shake. "Logan!"

Carlos just shook his head. "He just fell," Carlos said, still sounding shocked. He reached to wipe perspiration from Logan's face. The guy was so sweaty—too sweaty. "Maybe he's got heat stroke?"

The barrage of stage hands that had come running to Logan's aid pushed Carlos out of the way. He stumbled away from Logan's side. "Hey!" he shouted, standing to push his way back to his best friend's side. But as he went to do that, he caught sight of the audience.

Several girls in the front row had burst into tears—security was having seriously trouble containing the panicked fans. It broke Carlos's heart to see these girls so concerned and upset. He held his microphone up to his lips.

"Hey, don't worry guys!" he exclaimed, trying to sound reassuring. "Logan's gonna be just fine. Everything's gonna be all right. It's a little hot out today, our buddy's just a little overheated. Everything will be okay."

Inside, Carlos was praying that what he was saying was true.

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

The rattling of a gurney being rolled over drew Kendall's attention away from Logan. Two EMTs were already there, one of them gently slipping by Kendall and taking notice of Logan—checking his pulse, feeling the temperature of his skin.

"It's heat exhaustion, I'm sure," the EMT sighed. "He's the fourth today to faint. First performer though. He'll be fine." This last sentence he directed to the worried Kendall and James who both let out held breaths. "Let's get him to the ambulance so he can rest a bit…what's his name?"

"Logan," James and Kendall both supplied at the same time.

"One of you want to come with?" the EMT asked. "It'd probably make him feel better when he comes to if someone he knows is there."

"I'll go," James jumped in first, earning a glare and sigh from Kendall. "Take care of Carlos," James murmured to Kendall as they both stood and watched Logan, who was seemingly stirring the tiniest bit, get loaded on to the stretcher.

Kendall glanced over at Carlos, who was still busy trying to console a crowd of upset teenaged girls. With another sigh, Kendall nodded to James, who trotted off to catch up with Logan as he was wheeled off the stage. Kendall then joined Carlos, taking his microphone (Kendall had dropped his somewhere along the line).

"Hey guys, calm down!" Kendall called out to the audience. "Everything's fine, the EMT says Logan got a little bit overheated but he'll be all right." A cheer went up among some of the fans, and the girls in the front row were wiping their last few tears away. "Thanks for coming out today, sorry it didn't get to go exactly as you'd hoped…let this be a lesson to you!" he joked. "Always stay hydrated on a hot day like this!" He waved to the crowd as a stage hand put a hand on his shoulder to lead him off stage. "We'll keep everyone updated on Logan as much as we can!"

Kendall handed the microphone off to the stage hand and then put an arm around Carlos to guide his younger friend off the stage. Carlos was shaking slightly, perhaps from nerves, repressed sobs, something. When they got off the stage, Kendall led Carlos into the dressing room area and sat him down on the couch.

"Is Logan okay?" Carlos asked desperately. "I just saw him…he just completely _collapsed, _I've never seen that happen to him before."

"He's gonna be fine," Kendall assured him. "The EMT said Logan's the fourth person to pass out today from heat exhaustion. James is with him right now and you know he'll make sure Logan's all right."

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

By the time they had almost gotten to the ambulance parked on the grass just behind the stage (the ambulance had been on the grounds all day in case of emergencies like these) Logan's head was rolling around on the gurney and his eyes were fluttering open as he murmured somewhat unintelligibly.

"Hey, Logan, take it easy, alright?" one of the EMTs wheeling the gurney said in a gentle voice. "You're just fine. We're gonna take you here in the shade and you'll get nice and cool again, okay?"

Logan muttered something back, his flushed face grimacing. "Hey," James said suddenly, jogging up to be in Logan's line of sight. "Loge-man. I'm here. It's all good. You're fine."

A groan escaped Logan's lips as he squinted and managed to focus on James. "James," he whimpered. "Oh, God…what…happened…"

"You passed out, buddy," James informed him, not able to help a grin of relief as Logan finally managed to say something. They had reached the ambulance and James paused to let the EMTs load Logan up in the back before stepping up in himself. An EMT closed the doors and it became noticeably cooler. "You got dehydrated and then tried to perform a show. You know, for a genius you can be such an idiot sometimes."

"Yeah, well," Logan murmured, his voice becoming stronger by the minute as he came more into consciousness. He groaned again, louder than before. "Oh, God, I feel horrible."

"I'll bet," one of the EMTs said sympathetically. "Logan, do you think you want to sit up a little?" When Logan nodded, the EMTs adjusted the gurney so Logan was more reclining rather than laying down flat. Someone brought over a cool cloth and placed it on Logan's forehead. Very gently, the girl EMT helped Logan ease out of the vest he was wearing.

"Can I have some water?" Logan asked meekly.

Another EMT brought a cool bottle over. "Only little sips," he warned. "Don't overdo it." Logan nodded sheepishly and took the smallest of sips, wincing and sighing as the cool liquid made a difference.

"God, Logan," James chuckled, feeling remarkably better himself now that Logan was starting to recover. "You had us so _worried_! Don't do that again. I thought some of those girls were going to jump right onto the stage."

Logan's eyes widened. "Oh God, the fans," he moaned. "I let them all down! I ruined the concert. God, we've got to do something to make it up to them—can we do the last number again?"

"Hell no!" James exclaimed. "You're going to take it easy. Here, later you can send out a tweet, okay? Apologize about the performance. Maybe tomorrow we can come and sign some autographs or something-."

The back of the ambulance opened. Brett, one of the security guys, stood there and behind him was…

"Chris!" Logan called as loudly as he could manage, sounding surprised. "What are you-."

"This your dad, Logan?" Brett asked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

"Yeah, he is," Logan said, gesturing for Brett to let him come up. Chris stepped up into the ambulance and James halfheartedly stepped aside to let Chris to Logan's side.

"Are you okay?" Chris asked frantically. "God, Logan, you don't even know…when I saw you hit the ground, I just…and then you were getting taken off and I had to fight my way through the crowd of people to get to the ambulance and then the security guys were giving so much trouble…luckily, that guy, Brett was his name? He recognized me and…and I was just so worried that something had happened, I…"

"Dad," Logan cut Chris off. "I'm fine."

Chris's eyes had widened as Logan referred to him, for the first time, as "Dad." He didn't mention it though and just put a hand on Logan's shoulder tenderly.

"Don't do something like that to me, kiddo," he said gently. "I've only just gotten you back—I don't want to lose you."

James looked back and forth between the tender moment that had happened in front of him and then couldn't help but say something. "You do care," he managed to say finally. Both Chris and Logan looked over at him and James gestured to the both of them. "I believe you. I do. You're…you're honestly here for Logan. Not for Big Time Rush or fame or money or anything…I _believe _that you want to be here to be with Logan…to be with your son."

"You doubted that?" Chris questioned. James nodded. "I can assure you, James, that I do not nor have I ever had any interest in capitalizing on Logan's success. I want to be here for my son. It has nothing to do with his fame. I can't do anything except tell you that."

"I understand," James said. "It was just that…you seemed so interested in Big Time Rush, and Los Angeles, and the work we do…"

"I know it looks odd that I didn't come forward until now," Chris allowed. "But I swear—I swear on my own life that I have no ulterior motives. I take interest in your work because I think it's impressive the talent that my son and you boys have…when I was seventeen, I was working as a busboy. You boys are world famous professional performers. It's hard for a man not to be proud that…well, that his son is already turning out a better man than him." Chris smiled at Logan, who had been eased to a sitting position by the paramedics.

The back of the ambulance opened again. Brett looked harassed, possibly by the amount of fans that they could see trying to make their way to the ambulance, but more likely by the small Latino boy who had just forced his way past him and was now scrambling into the back of the ambulance.

"I'm sorry, he's insistent," Brett began, but was cut off.

"Logan!" Carlos cried, throwing his arms around Logan, who barely had a chance to react. Kendall hopped up into the ambulance behind Carlos.

"Sorry, I tried to keep him under control," Kendall said sheepishly, but in all honesty he seemed too relieved to find Logan awake and sitting up to care that Carlos had broken into the ambulance. "How are you doing buddy?" Kendall asked as he joined the others at Logan's side.

Logan smiled as the paramedics grumbled that there was no room in the ambulance for all these people. "I'm doing great," he murmured, glancing from Chris to James, both smiling. "I'm doing great."

**EHHHH, I'm not so sure about this chapter. I thought it was good while I was writing it, but then I went back and…do you think James forgives Chris too easily and suddenly? I think he might. Let me know!**


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.**

"Here's some water, fainty," Camille teased as she sat in the chair next to Logan out by the pool, setting a bottle of water in front of him. The other guys chuckled and Logan rolled his eyes.

"Gee, thanks," he sneered jokingly, smiling at Camille before leaning in to give her a quick peck on the lips. "Seriously, are you guys ever going to let me live that down?"

The group (James, Kendall, Carlos, Camille, and Jo) all exchanged a look. "No," they said in perfect unison, shaking their heads and bursting into giggles. Logan could only smile and roll his eyes again.

It was Sunday, early evening, the day after their disastrous concert at the music festival. After recovering from his swoon on Saturday, Logan had insisted that the band return to the festival Sunday to make it up to the fans. They'd spent the morning and afternoon there, taking pictures and signing autographs—although, the other three guys had been careful to make sure Logan was staying in the shade and drinking plenty of water.

"Honestly, Logan, I don't know how you thought you could perform a concert in 95 degree weather while you were as dehydrated as you were," Jo tutted, shaking her head. "You're all just ridiculous."

"I wasn't thinking clearly," Logan insisted desperately. The others had not relented in teasing him about his fainting—now that he was better, it was funny rather than terrifying. Any of Logan's arguments just seemed to bring the group more mirth. He could have taken offense to it—but he didn't. He thought it was rather amusing too. "Come on, guys, stop!" He tried to sound stern, but he couldn't keep laughter out of his voice.

"So, what's going on for this evening?" Jo asked. "Just a quiet evening at home after a long day being famous?" Kendall grinned at his girlfriend and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Well, Chris is coming over for dinner again, and Camille is finally going to meet him." Logan told her. He was calling his father by his first name again—by some unspoken deal, they'd agreed that "Dad" was more of a word for special occasions.

"That's exciting," Jo commented. "Things are going well then?" She said this rather tentatively, with a not-so-subtle glance towards James.

James just smiled. "You know…Chris and I have been getting along better lately. Yesterday evening, after we got back to the apartment and Logan was resting, he and I had a really long talk. I think that maybe I can finally forgive what he did in the past…" James looked sheepish. "Anyway, if Logan can forgive him, I certainly should be able to."

A voice shouted from above. "Logan!" All the guys looked up to see Katie Knight leaning out of the window of their apartment. "Logan, come up here!"

"Katie?" Logan murmured. "Katie, what's up?" he called back.

"Something wrong, baby sister?" Kendall shouted as well.

"No, Logan just needs to come up here!" Katie said, with a grin plastered on her face. She gestured frantically for Logan to come. "Come on!" She then disappeared back into the living room.

Logan exchanged a puzzled look with his friends, but got up and headed back into the building, the others close on his heels. They got up to the apartment as quick as they could.

"What's up Katie…" Logan began, his voice trailing off as he saw the people in the living room. Katie was leaning against the counter, her arms crossed, grinning. Mama Knight was on the couch. And next to Mama Knight…

"Mom!" Logan exclaimed, his face breaking into a huge smile. He made it to his mother in two big strides and engulfed her in a big hug when she stood to greet him. "Mom, wow! What are you doing here?"

"This is a surprise, Mrs. Mitchell, when did you get here?" James asked, also smiling.

"Mama Mitchell!" Carlos cried, running to Logan's mother with a hug of his own. Everyone, including Joanna Mitchell, laughed at this. "We haven't seen you in ages!"

"I know, it's been too long," Joanna laughed, finally getting a word in. She ruffled Carlos's hair, something she'd been doing to him since he was a little kid. Carlos grinned sheepishly and let her. "You boys need to come visit more often!"

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Logan asked again, gesturing for his mother to sit again and taking the seat next to her. "Is anything…is anything wrong?" he asked tentatively, wondering if she was here bearing bad news.

"No, no, everything's all right," Joanna assured him. "I was just checking my email at work one day, and imagine my surprise when I see on yahoo news that pop superstar and boy band member Logan Mitchell _fainted onstage during a music festival concert_!"

Logan winced and gulped. "I'm fine, Mom, I was just a little dehydrated…and idiotic for trying to perform," he admitted at a look from Kendall. "That made yahoo news? Must have been a slow day."

"Don't try to change the subject, Logie bear, you're bad at it," Joanna scolded gently. "Anyway, of course I immediately called Jennifer. She told me that you were already recovered, but…well, I hadn't seen you since Mother's Day anyway, and now this, so I decided I should just fly out here to check on you anyway." Joanna placed a hand on Logan's forehead. "You're sure you're okay, sweetie?"

Logan dodged away from his mother's hand. "Mom! Yes, I'm fine, I swear. It was an isolated incident. Heat exhaustion. I'm not sick."

Joanna tutted at her son. "Honestly, what were you thinking, performing in that heat? I thought you were always reading those medical books—surely the word _dehydration _is in one of them somewhere!"

The guys sniggered as Logan's ears turned red. "I thought I could make it through the concert," Logan mumbled. "I could have too, if I hadn't been an idiot trying to do that backflip. We only had one chorus left."

Joanna smiled at her boy. "Well, I'm just glad you're really all right, Logie bear," she said, running a hand through his hair in that loving and motherly way she did. He couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Mama Mitchell, are you gonna stay for dinner?" Carlos asked eagerly. "Logan's cooking tonight!"

"Are you?" Joanna asked her son. "You're cooking?"

"Yeah, I was gonna cook because…" Logan trailed off as he realized just why he _was _cooking that evening. _Because it's a special night since Chris is going to meet Camille._

Kendall and James exchanged a wide-eyed look and Carlos caught on and looked horrified as well. Camille and Jo, who had followed the guys up as well, both bit their lips in anticipation as Mama Knight grew pale and turned with a nervous expression to her best friend.

"Because…?" Joanna prompted. She glanced around at the silent room. "What is it?"

"Mom, I…I…well…umm…" Logan was trying. He really was. He just panicked under pressure. And now he couldn't think of a polite way to say that his mother's long-lost husband was going to be over for dinner any minute now.

Mama Knight took over. "Joanna," she said gently. "Chris was coming over for dinner tonight."

Joanna's face froze and paled noticeably. She cleared her throat as Logan placed a concerned hand on his mother's shoulder. "Of course," she murmured. "I just…I mean, I didn't forget he was here, of course." She said this last bit with a nervous laugh. "I just…wasn't thinking he'd _still _be here."

"He's been around a lot lately," Logan explained, glancing at his friends nervously. "He came to the concert yesterday too."

"I see," was all Joanna said. "I don't know if…if I should stay then."

"You do whatever you want, Joanna," Mama Knight told her. "If you want, we can call Chris and ask him not to come."

"No, no, don't do that," Joanna immediately said. "I want him and Logan to spend time together, I do, I just-."

The knock on the door cut off Joanna's sentence and everyone glanced at the door in a mixture of apprehension, shock, and horror.

"Oh, look at that, he's early," Carlos said in a mock happy voice, obviously trying to lighten the mood. He received elbows from both James and Kendall, on either side of him.

Logan looked at his mom, who just smiled and nodded at him. Slowly, Logan got up and walked to the door. A quick glance through the peephole told him that it was Chris standing at the door, patiently waiting. A deep breath…Logan opened the door.

Chris smiled at seeing Logan at the door. "Hey, Logan!" he greeted enthusiastically. "Been looking forward to this all day! I'm really looking forward to meeting Camille."

"That's great…" Logan said faintly. He cleared his throat. "Chris, I…um…"

"Cat got your tongue, kid?" Chris frowned. "Something wrong?"

"My mom's here," Logan whispered, knowing that he was mumbling at a level that couldn't possibly be heard.

Chris leaned forward, looking confused. "Eh? What was that, Logan? Your what?"

"Mom's here," Logan said, a little louder. Loud enough for Chris to hear him. He knew Chris had heard him immediately because of the reaction. Chris took what seemed to be an involuntary step back and his face was flooded with an array of emotion—first shock, then a split second of joy, and then taken over by terror and guilt.

"Joanna?" Chris whispered. "Joanna's here?"

"Yes." The reply didn't come from Logan. Instead, it was from behind him. Logan turned and saw his mom had stood up and was standing by the sofa, her arms tightly folded across her chest. When Logan stepped out of the way, giving both of his parents full view of each other, both were shocked enough at seeing each other for the first time in seventeen years to hesitate.

Chris took a slow, quivering step into the room. "Joanna," he said, sounding nervous, his voice hoarse.

Joanna cleared her throat before speaking. "Chris. I…well, it's been a while."

"It has…" Chris nodded.

Everyone was feeling the awkward vibe of the room.

Mama Knight acted first. "So, Logan, you should get that dinner started!" she told him, standing and placing an arm protectively around Joanna's shoulders.

"On it!" Logan immediately said, rushing for the semi-safety of the kitchen.

"I'll help!" Camille offered instantaneously after him.

A pointed look from Mama Knight sent the others scrambling to leave too. Kendall and Jo murmured something about walking up to her apartment for a few minutes, while Carlos and James both suddenly seemed to realize that they had "forgotten something at the pool." In seconds, the room was empty save for Mama Knight, the two teenagers doing their best to be invisible in the kitchen, and the married couple who hadn't seen each other in a lifetime—in their son's entire lifetime.

"Joanna," Logan could just barely hear Mama Knight murmur to her friend. "Do you want to go or stay? Do you want Chris to go?"

"I want to stay," Joanna answered, her eyes locked on Chris. "I have to now."

It wasn't like a movie, where old lovers see each other after years and years and suddenly run to each other's' arms and share some wild, passionate kiss. These two were sad, awkward…they were almost strangers. They stood staring at each other, Chris awkwardly shuffling his feet against the floor by the front door, and Joanna standing with her hands gripping her arms so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

"Can we talk?" Chris asked finally. "I think…"

Joanna nodded. "We should talk about some things." She turned to her best friend beside her. "Jennifer, can we step out on the patio?"

Mama Knight nodded. "Sure, it's just through my room. Come on." She gestured for both Chris and Joanna to follow her, which they did.

After they had left the room, Logan, who had been banging pots and pans together somewhat excessively as he pulled cooking utensils out of cabinets, gripped his hair in both hands and slid down the wall, coming to rest on the cold kitchen floor. He let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding and found himself almost hyperventilating not a moment later.

Camille kneeled beside him. "Logan, calm down," she pleaded gently. "It's all right. You didn't plan to put them in this situation, you know that. Logan. Logan, look at me." Camille took Logan by the chin and pointed his face at her, then grabbed both his hands in her own. "It'll be okay!" she assured him with a smile. "This might even be _good_!"

"Good?" Logan said weakly. "My poor mother…she must be terrified! And now everything is just going to come back for her—I can't imagine how much pain she went through when Chris left her, and now she's just going to be reminded of it all again." Logan took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. "And Chris…he told me he was still in love with Mom. Can you imagine how _he _feels?"

"Logan, they have to talk," she told him. "Sure, maybe it would have been nice if they could have done it on their own terms and time table, but hey—maybe now Chris and your mom can be in your life at the same time."

"What, do you expect them to fall in love again and live happily ever after?" Logan snapped. "Let's not be idiotic, Camille, that happens in movies and fairy tales. Those two should have never seen each other again. You know that."

"I don't think that your parents are going to 'live happily ever after' Logan," Camille told him gently. "But now, maybe they can work some things out. Maybe they can get a legal divorce now. Maybe your dad can start paying her alimony and child support—she won't have to work as hard."

"My mother doesn't have to work nearly as hard any more, anyway," Logan muttered. "I send her so much of my paycheck." But Logan had calmed down now. "I'm sorry, I snapped at you, Cami…"

Camille just smiled at him. "I know you didn't mean it. Logan, I want what's best for you. And for your family. And you know what? I think that that might be what's happening right now." She looked him hard in the eyes. "But I don't decide that. You have to decide what's best for you. Just like _they_," she gestured over her shoulder at Logan's absent parents, "have to decide what's best for them."

Logan didn't really have a response to that, so he just put a hand behind Camille's head, winding his fingers into her soft, brown curls and pulled her in for a loving kiss.


	10. Chapter 10

**COLLEGE IS HAPPENING TO MY LIFE. I'M SO SORRY THAT I'M TERRIBLE AT UPDATING.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters**

Logan nervously drummed his fingers on the counter while Camille finished setting plates out on the table. "Maybe I shouldn't stay for dinner," she fretted. "I mean…things have kind of changed, haven't they?"

"Don't go anywhere, Camille," Logan begged. "Please?"

With a sigh, Camille nodded. "If you think I should stay, I will. But…is your mom going to eat dinner here? Her _and _Chris?"

"I don't know," Logan whimpered, feeling himself practically shaking with apprehension. His mom and Chris had been gone for almost forty minutes now, along with Mama Knight. Dinner was ready and the table was set. James and Carlos were both seated at the counter while Kendall was leaning against the fridge, arms folded over his chest. All three of the guys were watching Logan with great concern.

"Logan, are you going to have a panic attack?" James asked hesitantly.

Logan shook his head. "I already did that earlier," he murmured. "I'm just nervous. I mean, of course they're taking a long time to talk. Chris has a lot to say. And so does Mom. But _seriously_ I'm _freaking out_!" With a shuddering breath, Logan gripped his hair in both hands and tried to focus on not hyperventilating. Kendall immediately went to him and removed Logan's hands from his scalp.

"Hey," Kendall said in a calming, serious voice. He grasped Logan by his small shoulders. "Calm down. Everything's fine. Okay?"

With another deep breath, Logan nodded slowly. "Right. Sorry."

The door from Mama Knight's bedroom opening caused Logan to immediately feel weak-kneed. "Oh God," he whimpered, literally _feeling _all the color drain from his face. Kendall gripped Logan's upper arms tightly and Camille ran over to whisper soothing words in Logan's ear.

Mama Knight came out, followed by Joanna and Chris. Joanna smiled a bit tensely at Logan, but then seemed to notice the state that her son was in. "Logie bear," she said to him, her smile fading and concern flooding into her voice as she hurried to him. "Logan, are you okay?"

Logan nodded furiously as Kendall and Camille stepped aside. "I'm fine!" he insisted, pulling himself together. "So…Mom…are you…uh…are you staying for dinner?"

"Yes," Joanna said to him, placing a hand on his forehead. "Logan, you feel a little feverish, are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine!" Logan declared again, ducking away from Joanna. "And…and, Chris…are…are you…?"

"I'm sorry, kid, I'm gonna have to take a rain check," Chris told him. "Your mom's only in town for the night. Sorry Camille," Chris said to a stunned Camille. "I'm really looking forward to talking to you sometime. Maybe later this week?"

Camille's face was incredibly pale. She seemed almost as nervous as Logan in this situation. She could only nod and choke out a few words. "Uh, yeah!"

Chris nodded goodbyes to everyone and then left the apartment. Everyone started talking at once.

"Are you staying here tonight, Mama Mitchell?" Carlos asked enthusiastically.

"So, are we eating soon then?" was James's question.

"Joanna, did you want me to put your bag in my room?" Mama Knight called from the living room.

"You must be Camille?" That was Joanna. Oh great. She had never met Camille either, Logan realized.

"Hi, yes, nice to meet you."

"Are we having Logan's enchiladas for dinner?"

"Do you have a flight booked already for tomorrow, Mama Mitchell?"

Logan couldn't believe how fast everyone was talking. And he couldn't comprehend the mundane subjects they were choosing to speak about. His parents had been in the same room. His _parents_. He had never had that. _PARENTS_, plural. Always just his mom. And more recently, his dad. They had been _together_, in the _same place_. And _everyone seemed to be ignoring that_.

His mouth was going a bit dry, and he felt himself sway a bit. His head was feeling very light…

"Logan!" He felt someone grab him as his knees seemed to give out. "Logan are you okay?" Everyone finally took notice of him and all called out in varying degrees of concern.

"Logie, sweetie!" his mom's voice was full of extreme worry.

As was Camille's. "Logan! Logan, are you okay?"

He felt himself be lifted up by someone. He was carried a short distance and then laid down—on the couch, he realized. He opened his eyes to see that it had been James to grab him and carry him over here. "I'm fine, really," he finally managed to say. He still felt light-headed and short of breath though.

"Camille, get some water," James called over his shoulder. He felt Logan's forehead, same as Joanna had done earlier. "You feel pretty hot, buddy."

"I'm _fine_," Logan insisted, sitting up as his light-headedness faded. "I just got a little woozy, that's all."

"Logie bear, sweetheart, are you okay?" Logan felt his heart drop as he looked up in his mom's eyes, filled with fear.

"I'm okay, I swear," he told her quietly and gently. "I'm sorry. I just got a little overwhelmed. I just…I…"

Joanna smoothed her son's hair. "I know. I'm sorry sweetie."

Camille came over with a glass of cold water, which Logan took gratefully. "So, Mom, you've met my girlfriend," he mumbled, trying to make a joke out of the situation.

It worked. Joanna smiled. "She's very pretty," she commented, smiling kindly at Camille. "I'm looking forward to having dinner with her."

"Are you feeling better, Loge-man?" James asked.

Logan nodded. "I'm good now, I swear." As if to prove his point, Logan swung his legs off the couch and slowly stood.

"You sure?" Kendall asked, sounding apprehensive.

"Absolutely. Let's have dinner." So, with that bit of drama aside, everyone sat down for dinner.

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

"I'm really sorry, Mom," Logan apologized for about the fourth time that evening. His mom, who was sitting on the couch next to him, just shook her head and smiled sadly at him.

"Logie bear, you've got this annoying habit," she told him. "You think everything is entirely your fault and you won't stop apologizing no matter how many times someone tells you that you had nothing to do with it."

Logan bit his lip. "But I _did _have something to do with it," he insisted. "I invited Chris over for dinner."

"Honey, you didn't know I'd be here."

"But if I also hadn't fainted at the concert, you wouldn't have felt the need to fly out and visit."

Joanna laughed at her ridiculous son. "You're just determined to find guilt in yourself, aren't you? Sweetie, it's fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine."

It was around nine that evening. The guys had gone to chill by the fire pits, but Logan had chosen to spend some much needed time with his mother.

"So…tell me about it," Logan suggested. "If you want to."

Joanna took a deep breath. "Your father and I discussed what had happened," she said simply. "What he's been doing for the past seventeen years. Logan," she said, looking him deep in the eyes. "We've decided to get a divorce."

Logan nodded. "Of course you have. What, did you think I expected you guys to stay married?"

With a sad smile, Joanna shrugged. "I don't know. I know you're a very mature young man, but I know this can't be an easy thing for you to go through."

"Mom, I've never even really seen you guys as married," he confessed. "I've always thought of you as a single mom, emphasis on the single."

Joanna laughed. "Well, now it will be legal. He technically doesn't _owe _any child support, since we were still legally married for the whole seventeen years, but he says he wants to do as much as he can."

"Of course he does," Logan murmured. "Mom, I'm almost eighteen. There's almost no point to setting up any child support system. Remember when James's parents got divorced? How long it took? You guys probably won't even have the divorce finalized before my birthday."

"It was a bit different with Brooke and Michael, Logie," Joanna told him. "They had James to fight for custody over, a house to be split down the middle, a whole life of things that had to be split into two." Joanna smiled somewhat sadly. "Chris and I don't have anything anymore."

Logan nodded slowly. "I guess."

Joanna put her arm around Logan's shoulders and squeezed. "You don't need to worry about it. Everything is just fine."

"Okay," Logan accepted. "If you say so."

With a smile, Joanna planted a kiss on top of Logan's head. "By the way," she said. "I _do _like Camille."

Logan laughed. "She'll be glad to hear that," he said. "What time do you go tomorrow?"

"I have a flight for noon at LAX," Joanna told him.

Logan sighed. "Dang. I didn't realize how much I missed you, Mom, until you were here."

Joanna smiled. "That means so much to me, Logie bear," she sniffled.

"Aw, geez, Mom, don't cry," Logan groaned awkwardly.

Laughing, Joanna dabbed at her eyes. "I'm not. I promise. You need to visit more often, Logie. Everyone back home misses you boys, you know."

"I know," Logan nodded. "I miss them too. But it's hard to get away from work. You know, you can come visit too!"

"Um, same with the work thing, Logie bear," Joanna teased. "But I guess if you keep finding ways to bust yourself up—faint at some more concerts—then I'll have to keep coming out here. I'd prefer if you didn't do that though," Joanna warned.

"Duly noted, Mom," Logan laughed.

The conversation went on and on, back and forth, just Logan and his mom enjoying each other's company. It was just like the good old days with just the two of them.


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.**

"Oh no…" Logan groaned as the limo pulled up to LAX and he saw the photographers camped out. "I should never have tweeted that I was dropping you off. I knew it was a mistake as soon as I did it. Sorry, Mom."

Joanna smiled kindly at her son as the other three guys peeked out the tinted windows at the photographers while the driver came around to open the door. Freight Train was making the photographers clear a path but he couldn't do anything to make them leave—they were allowed to be there.

"It's fine, Logie Bear," Joanna assured him. "I'm just glad that Gustavo let you take the morning off to come with me to the airport!"

"Yeah, that was pretty great of him," Logan agreed, peering out the window to see that Freight Train had managed to create a pathway. The driver opened the door and Logan stepped out first, shielding his face from the flashes as he reached back in the limo to help his mother out.

"Logan! Logan! Is that your mom?"

"Can we get a shot of you and Mama?"

"Let's get a farewell hug!"

"It's the other guys! They're all with him!"

"Hey, BTR, come on out! Let's get a shot!"

The guys all blinked spots from their eyes and slid on sunglasses to combat both the bright LA sun and the flashbulbs from the paps' cameras. Kendall handed Joanna her overnight bag that she had brought with her. Each of the other three guys gave her a goodbye hug before she turned to Logan.

"All right sweetie," she said in a semi-quiet voice, so as not to be overheard by the still-shouting paparazzi. "I'll miss you. See if you can manage a trip home sometime, okay? Even if it's just for a few days."

"I will, Mom," Logan promised, smiling.

Joanna smiled through her teary eyes. She turned to the other three. "That goes for all of you!" she told them. "James, Carlos, your parents miss you too, and Kendall, I know that Coach was asking when his superstar team captain would be back for a visit." The other guys chuckled and mumbled promises to visit as well.

"Logan! Hey, Logan, can we get a shot of you and your mother?" God, those paps were still yelling. Logan rolled his eyes. _You're already getting a million shots of me standing here with her_, he thought bitterly.

"Bye, Mom," he murmured quietly, ashamed that he was feeling a little teary himself. He pulled his mother in for a tight hug. "See you soon."

His mom hugged him back tightly and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'll call you when my plane lands in Minnesota, sweetheart." A final squeeze and she released her boy. With a wave to the others, she headed inside.

Logan sadly looked after her for a few seconds. Kendall threw an arm around his shoulder in a comforting way, and Logan gave a weak smile and nod—somehow, as best friends, they didn't need words to communicate.

The guys posed for a quick picture for the photographers and then piled back in the limo to head to work.

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~~

"So then it goes into the chorus again, but like this." Kendall played a few chords on his guitar to demonstrate. "You like?"

"Yeah, sounds cool," Carlos agreed.

"Definitely," James nodded, writing it down on their pages of notes. "It breaks it up and keeps it interesting. I like it."

Logan nodded along, quietly playing the chords himself on his guitar that he had on his lap. Their songwriting session was really productive so far this morning—everyone was really on their game.

Someone knocked on the door of the studio the guys were working in. "Come in," Kendall called over his shoulder while Logan and Carlos murmured about some lyrics. A harassed-looking Kelly came into the room, iPad in hand.

"Hey, Kelly, what's up?" James greeted. He pointed at their papers. "We're working on the song, really. You can tell Gustavo that—we don't need anyone babysitting us or anything." It had taken forever to convince Gustavo to let them have band-only writing sessions. He always wanted to sit in to "make sure they didn't screw up the entire thing." Meaning, he wanted to write the songs all himself and so he'd force them to turn over to him.

"That's not why I'm here," Kelly said, sounding just as harried as she looked. She turned to Logan and held out her iPad. "This just showed up on _Hollywood Private Eyes_."

Logan took it and read the headline. "DADDY DEAREST." And then the subheading: "Boy band member, Logan Mitchell, reunites with estranged dad just in time for Father's Day." Logan felt his heart sinking.

"How did they find out about Chris?" he wondered.

"Did he talk to the press?" James immediately asked, rushing to Logan's side. Logan sighed—despite all James said, he clearly still had his doubts about Chris.

"Read it," Kelly said, sitting in a chair in the corner. Carlos and Kendall came around back of the couch and read over Logan's shoulder while James and Logan read from their spot on the couch.

DADDY DEAREST

Boy band member, Logan Mitchell, reunites with estranged dad just in time for Father's Day.

Big Time Rush (Kendall Knight, James Diamond, Carlos Garcia, and Logan Mitchell) is known for their fun, catchy songs that have teens everywhere dancing. They're also known for being best friends—so close they're "like brothers," as they themselves have described it many times. We know that the boys currently all live under one roof with Kendall's mother and sister. And in the past, the guys have talked about their families back home. But you know who we haven't heard much about?

Logan's dad.

In fact, in our digging, we've found only one quote ever given by Logan on his dad—a Father's Day exclusive from last year's Tiger Beat where he tells reporters "My dad left when I was little and have never known him. I've been lucky enough to have three great friends who have shared their own dads with me. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Sad story, right? BUT, maybe there's a happy ending in sight? Recently, Logan has been seen around LA with an unidentified older gentleman. Many assumed it was probably a publicist or agent of the band, but after a dramatic onstage swoon at the Rock Radio Music Fest earlier this month (Read that story HERE), photographers caught the same man being allowed access to the ambulance where Logan was taken. Gustavo Roque, band producer, and other band officials were not allowed. So what was different about _this _man—who, according to witnesses, seemed distraught at Logan's fainting spell?

He's not a band official. He's Logan's long-lost father!

An inside source speaks to us on Logan's dad. "Logan's father came to LA to find Logan a few weeks ago and they've been spending time together ever since," the source says. "He and Logan seem to be getting pretty close."

Christopher Mitchell, as our source has informed us that Daddy Dearest is named, has not confirmed anything. Photographers have caught sight of him several times, visiting Logan at the Palm Woods Hotel or Roque Records. He's refused to speak to reporters, however.

The story gets even more juicy folks! Just yesterday, we posted THESE photos of Logan bidding his mother a tearful farewell after a surprise overnight visit. We wonder, with this new information about Logan's dad…could this visit have been connected? Perhaps there's a little popstar parent trap going on?

All calls to Big Time Rush reps have not yet been returned. However, as soon as we know more, you'll be the first we tell, readers!

What do you think about Logan's dad coming back in his life? Tell us in the comments below!

Logan lifted his eyes from the screen slowly and exchanged looks with his friends. "Well," Carlos broke the silence. "At least it wasn't Chris who talked to anyone. It says he refused to speak to reporters."

"It says that," James pointed out. "Tabloids can lie, Carlos, you know that."

"Chris didn't talk to the press," Logan snapped. He sighed. "Sorry, James."

"It's cool," James shrugged. "You're right. I'm sorry."

"Kelly, who's this informant?" Kendall demanded. "Don't all of the people who work with us sign confidentiality agreements?"

"I've been working on it, but it's too isolated of an incident—one quote is all they give in the article," Kelly said tiredly. "I don't think we'll ever know exactly who talked to the press, but I'm doing my best."

"I guess we'll have to make a statement," Logan sighed.

Kelly grimaced and nodded. "I've got a call in to Jess and she's going to be conference calling with us any second to prepare a statement to release." Jess was the band's publicist. "Sorry, Logan. I know you wanted to keep your dad out of the press."

"Yeah, well, it was a pipe dream," Logan murmured, scrolling up the page and looking at the photos of him and his dad that photographers had somehow gotten. Him and Chris walking out of a restaurant after having lunch together, and a shot of the two of them plus James and Kendall outside the Palm Woods. Logan clicked one of the links in the article, which took him to a short piece on his goodbye with his Mom outside LAX. He smiled at the picture of him hugging his mom goodbye and sighed.

James bumped his shoulder. "Hey, it's cool man," he assured Logan. "Our families have learned that sometimes personal things get made impersonal. It's part of the business."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Logan muttered, handing the iPad back to Kelly. "I just wish sometimes that it didn't have to be like that."

The guys all nodded and sat in an agreed silence for a few seconds. "Well," Kendall said, going back to his chair and picking up his guitar. "While we're waiting on Jess, we might as well keep working." The others agreed and they got back to work.


	12. Chapter 12

**Oh my God. It's long. It's long, it's long, it's long. Like. Eleven pages in word. I don't know what happened. Enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.**

LOGAN MITCHELL AND FATHER REUNITED

Earlier today we posted THIS article highlighting what appeared to be Logan Mitchell's (cute and nerdy Big Time Rush member) never-been-there dad. After numerous calls to representatives of the 17-year-old popstar, we finally have received a response.

Publicity mouthpiece for the band, Jessica Steen, had this to say to our reporters. "Although Logan would have preferred to keep this private, he does confirm that this man featured in your article is indeed his father, Christopher Mitchell. He thanks his fans for their supportive messages that he has received."

All we have to say is, congrats Logan, for finding your father again after so long!

Any well-wishes for Logan and his long-lost daddy? Comment below!

Logan snorted as he read the short article, passing the iPad to Kelly again. "Well, at least they're not trying to spin off any horrible lies about Chris or anything," he commented. "I wouldn't have been surprised if they had tried to speculate whether he was an imposter or something."

"Don't worry, Logan," the cheery voice of Jessica Steen came from the iPhone on the coffee table. "I made sure to make it clear that any coverage was to be positive and short, or they'd be hearing from our legal team."

"Thanks, Jess," Logan replied earnestly.

Jess cleared her throat on the other end of the line. "I do need one more thing from you Logan. _Tiger Beat _and _Teen _both called in with the same question that they want to run in a sidebar for their Father's Day issues."

"What's that?" Logan asked.

"'What was it like growing up without a dad?'"

Logan was struck silent as the others all stared at him expectantly.

_Kindergarten_

"Class, today we're going to hear about _families_," Miss Appleton sang in an excited voice to the children seated around her. "Everyone has a family, but there are so many different kinds! First, we're going to look at a picture of a family."

Logan sat quietly in the back, his dark hair falling into his deep brown eyes. He watched closely as Miss Appleton held up a drawing of some people in front of a house. "Okay, class, here's the mommy," Miss Appleton said in her sing-song voice, pointing to the woman in the picture. "And here's the daddy! And here's…yes, Logan?" she said as she saw a little hand raise hesitantly into the air.

"Why does that picture have a daddy?" little Logan Mitchell asked.

"Well, most families have a daddy, Logan," Miss Appleton explained.

"My family doesn't have a daddy," Logan said. "Why does that family have a daddy, but I don't?"

Miss Appleton got a strange look on her face. "Well…well, Logan, some families are different. Does anyone else not have a daddy? Or not have a mommy?" She looked around and saw no raised hands. With a sigh, she turned back to Logan. She offered him a kind smile. "Well, aren't you special, Logan. You're the only one! That's so special."

She went on to ask people about siblings. Logan was also the only kid in his class who was an only child. And he was the only one without any aunts or uncles, and all he had was one grandma. Miss Appleton commented again on how special he was, and how much love he must get from his mother, with no one else to take her attention. But Logan didn't feel special. He felt weird. All the other kids gave him funny looks.

He felt really lonely.

_Second Grade_

Logan shoved his workbook and pencils into his bright blue backpack as the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. He joined the other kids as they all hurried out the door of the classroom, tripping over his untied shoelaces as he went.

Out on the front steps of the school, he was faced with what he always saw every day—kids getting picked up by their parents. He saw a girl from his class, Susie, run to her father and give him a big hug, before walking off holding his hand. Logan sighed, hitched his backpack on his shoulder, and trudged towards the big yellow bus idling on the curb.

In a seat at the front of the bus, he pulled a book from his bag and started reading. His mom always told him he shouldn't read while in a car because he might get carsick, but he always did anyway. It wasn't like he had any friends on the bus to talk to during the long ride. Come to think of it, he didn't really have that many friends at school either. He had the boys he sat next to at lunch, the kids at his table in the classroom, but it wasn't much. It wasn't like he was playing at anyone's house after school.

The bus ride was long—it was always long and boring. By the time it pulled up to his street, his mom was standing at the stop waiting for him. She could never get off work early enough to pick him up from school, but she always managed to be home before the bus dropped him off.

Logan got off with a couple other kids from his neighborhood, and he hugged his mom like usual. He knew that she had been really sad and tired lately, ever since his grandma had died a few weeks ago. Logan had been sad too. He and his grandma were really close—it was kind of hard not to be when she was his only other family besides his mom.

As Logan and his mom walked down the sidewalk towards their house, hand in hand, she cleared her throat and said something that, although he didn't know it yet, would change his life forever.

"Logie bear, remember how I said we might be moving after this year?" she started carefully. Logan nodded. "Well, I got a job in Minnesota, and we'll be moving there this summer." She looked at her son anxiously, trying to gauge his response. "How do you feel about that?"

"Where's Minnesota?" Logan asked, screwing up his face in concentration as he tried to picture the US map that was on the wall of his classroom.

"It's up north, Logie bear," his mom said. "It's a lot colder than here—it snows every winter. You'll be able to ice skate whenever you want." That was one of her big selling points for Minnesota. Logan loved ice skating—and hockey. He loved to watch hockey on television. But his school didn't have a team (it was Texas; it was football or nothing, essentially) and she couldn't afford to pay for him to join the peewee city league.

"Oh," Logan said, and smiled a little. "That sounds like fun." He hesitated. "Mom, does Dad live in Minnesota?"

His mother inhaled sharply and paled for a moment before regaining her composure. She squeezed Logan's hand. "I don't know where your dad lives, honey," she murmured.

Logan wanted to press the subject, but even at this age he'd learned that his father was a sensitive topic. Before long, he'd stop asking questions about him altogether.

_Fifth Grade_

"Hey, loser!" The small-for-his-age boy tensed as he heard someone behind him shout. He slowly turned away from his locker and faced the kid who had called to him. Jimmy Phelps. Logan's own personal tormenter. Since the beginning of the year, Jimmy had zeroed in on Logan, deciding he was an easy target and had relentlessly picked on him.

Logan had dealt with plenty of bullies in the past, but none were so scary as Jimmy. He'd do more than just called Logan names. He knocked his books out of his hands, stole lunch money, and shoved Logan more times than could be counted.

Jimmy sauntered up to him now. "I've gotta go, Jimmy," Logan murmured, trying to make himself even smaller as he hurriedly put books into his bag. "My ride is waiting for me."

"Oh yeah, huh?" Jimmy taunted. "Well they can wait. I want to have a little chat first." Jimmy gave Logan a little shove.

Logan felt his ears growing red. "I really c-can't," he stammered.

"C-c-c-c-c-can't!" Jimmy mocked. "Listen to you!" He laughed, before taking the book that Logan was holding and tossing it onto the floor. Logan quickly glanced around to make sure that no one saw him getting made fun of. He went to pick up his book but Jimmy grabbed his arm and made him stop.

"I heard you're really good at science, loser Logan," Jimmy went on. "Just so happens I've got a worksheet due tomorrow. You do it, and I might let you keep your lunch money tomorrow."

"I can't," Logan told him stiffly. "I've got my own homework to do. Besides, that's cheating."

"_Cheating?_" Jimmy laughed. "I don't care! You're gonna do it, cuz I said so, loser Logan." He gave Logan one shove, then another, making Logan fall back a couple steps.

Getting picked on constantly was making Logan so angry. He lost his senses for a minute and shoved Jimmy back.

Jimmy's face was shocked and Logan absorbed the enormity of what he'd just done. He tried to grab his bag to make a run for it, but Jimmy pushed him, hard, onto the ground. "Oh, you think you're a tough guy, do ya?" Jimmy snarled at him. "On the _hockey_ team, such a tough guy, huh?"

"You're just jealous because you didn't make the hockey team!" Logan sneered back before he could think. He had that problem, thinking without speaking.

Jimmy grabbed Logan by the collar and pulled him up. "I wouldn't want to be on that stupid team!" Jimmy growled. He then grabbed Logan's glasses right from his face and cleanly snapped them in half as Logan stared, open-mouthed. Jimmy tossed the glasses on the ground and suddenly shoved Logan hard, knocking his shoulder hard against the locker. He shoved Logan into the locker again, again, and then finally shoved him to the ground. With a laugh, he walked away

Logan sniffed, wiping away a few tears, and pulled himself together, packing his books up and shoving his glasses in a side pocket of his backpack. He ran out to the parking lot and found Mama Garcia's car waiting for him.

"Logan, where were you?" Carlos asked, as Logan slipped in the backseat next to him. "Hey, where are your glasses?"

Flustered, Logan stammered out a response. "I-I broke them. On accident. I dropped them and then…stepped on them."

"Oh no," Mama Garcia tutted as she pulled out of her parking space. "That's a shame."

"Yeah," Logan agreed, relieved that no one questioned his story. Truthfully, he wanted to burst into tears and tell Carlos everything—all about Jimmy's relentless bullying, but he couldn't. For two years, since he'd moved to Minnesota, the guys had been his best friends. He'd always been in the same class as at least one of the others. But now, in fifth grade, with a rotating daily schedule, he was often separated from the guys, and they weren't around to protect him from the teasing that he seemed to attract.

Plus, knowing the guys, they'd probably just want to go and beat up Jimmy himself, and then _they _would be the one in trouble. That wouldn't be fair. And it wasn't their responsibility anyway. Logan scuffed his feet on the floor of the car and stared out the window. He should be tough enough to stand up to Jimmy, Logan realized. He _was _on the hockey team. He _was _supposed to be a popular, cool kid. His friends were popular and cool.

So why was he always getting picked on?

The ride to the Garcia's house was short and sweet, with the aimless chattering of Carlos filling up the entire time. At their house, the boys dropped their bags by the front door and ran to the den to play some video games

Ever since they'd moved to Minnesota, Logan's mom had been working later. He had a schedule of going over to one of the guys' houses after school every day (unless he had hockey practice) until his mom picked him up. He didn't mind this situation—in fact it was pretty great. He was always with his friends. But today, he wanted nothing more than to throw himself on his own bed and just sob.

Still, he managed to keep himself together as he and Carlos battled in Mario Kart for a half an hour. After winning a round, Carlos whooped in celebration and punched Logan on the arm. It was in a friendly way, but it hurt _a lot_ for some reason and Logan cried out.

Carlos immediately stopped his celebrating. "Did I hurt you?" he asked incredulously. "How? I barely tapped you!"

"No!" Logan covered up, gritting his teeth and rubbing his sore arm. "I'm fine."

"Lemme see," Carlos insisted and, despite Logan's objections, pulled up the sleeve of Logan's shirt. There, on his upped arm, was an already-formed livid bruise from repeatedly being shoved into that stupid locker. "Logan, what happened?" Carlos asked, confused. "Did you get hurt in hockey practice?"

"Yes!" Logan exclaimed, grasping at the line he'd been offered. "That must be it."

Carlos shook his head. "Except that doesn't seem right, because we only had one practice this week so far and all we did was slapshots. And you didn't fall or anything."

Logan floundered for a few seconds. "Logan," Carlos began slowly. "Did someone hurt you?"

His eyes wide, Logan felt tears welling up. He just sniffed and looked at the ground, turning away. Carlos seemed to be putting the pieces together. "Your glasses too! Someone broke those? Did someone beat you up? Who?" Logan just shook his head. "Who is it?" Carlos demanded. "I'll get back at him. Kendall and James too."

"No!" Logan insisted. "I don't want you to do that!"

"Logan we're not going to let you get bullied like this!" Carlos exclaimed.

"Bullied?" The boys both froze and turned to face the doorway. There was Papa Garcia, obviously just arrived from work, in his police uniform. He was looking at both the boys very expectantly. "Boys, who's getting bullied?"

Carlos pointed at Logan. "Papi, someone broke Logan's glasses and hurt his arm and he won't tell me who."

Papa Garcia came and kneeled down in front of Logan, to see eye to eye with the seated boy. "Logan, is that true? Is someone giving you a hard time?"

Logan sniffed and finally nodded.

"Who?" Papa Garcia asked.

"Jimmy Phelps," Logan said in a small voice.

Carlos made a small noise of disgust. "Ugh! I hate him!"

"Carlos, it's not nice to hate people," Papa Garcia gently scolded. "And I hope you weren't thinking of fighting fire with fire and ganging up on Jimmy with Kendall and James, were you?" Carlos looked flustered and ducked his head. Papa Garcia turned back to Logan. "Logan, tomorrow morning, you and I are going in to see your principal."

That's exactly what they did. The next morning, Papa Garcia picked up Logan and drove him and Carlos to school. As Carlos ran off down the hallway to find Kendall and James, Logan and Papa Garcia went to the administration office. They were let into the principal's office. The principal was a nice-looking lady named Mrs. Elder.

"What can I do for you today?" she asked as Papa Garcia came in with Logan.

"Hello, Mrs. Elder, my name is Officer Erik Garcia," Papa Garcia said, shaking the principal's hand. "My son is Carlos Garcia?"

"Yes, I'm familiar with Carlos," Mrs. Elder said with a slight wince. "Why do you have Logan Mitchell with you then?"

Papa Garcia put a hand on Logan's shoulder. Logan was staring at the ground, gripping the straps on his backpack with both hands. "Logan told me about a little problem with one of the other students in his grade. Jimmy Phelps. Apparently, Jimmy's been taking his lunch money and roughing Logan up. He broke his glasses yesterday too, and gave him a nasty bruise on his arm."

Mrs. Elder pursed her lips. "Is that so?" she said. "Officer Garcia, thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. Trust me, it will not be continuing. Just give me a minute." Mrs. Elder picked up her desk telephone. She dialed a few numbers and then waited. "Mrs. Rodgers? Is Jimmy Phelps in your class right now? …He is? Can you send him to my office immediately? …thank you so much."

Hanging up the phone, Mrs. Elder gestured for Logan and Papa Garcia to sit down. She and Papa Garcia talked for a few minutes more about what Logan had told about Jimmy. When a knock came at the door, Logan felt his heart stop beating. He sank down in his chair.

"Come in, Jimmy," Mrs. Elder said in a hard voice. Jimmy Phelps walked in, not seeming so tough now that he was in the principal's office. In fact, he looked downright scared. When he saw a policeman sitting in one of the chairs, he stopped short. "Sit," Mrs. Elder ordered, pointing to the third chair.

Jimmy hesitantly sat. "Jimmy," Mrs. Elder began, folding her hands on top of her desk. "I've been hearing that you've been bullying Logan Mitchell. Is that true?"

"No way!" Jimmy lied, shaking his head. "Logan and I are friends, _aren't we_, Logan?" He gave a pointed look at Logan.

Logan looked up at Papa Garcia. Jimmy was lying. What if Papa Garcia and Mrs. Elder didn't believe Logan anymore? "I swear I told you the truth," Logan told Papa Garcia.

"I know," Papa Garcia soothed.

"Jimmy, I won't tolerate lying," Mrs. Elder told him. "Now tell me the truth. Did you break Logan's glasses yesterday?"

Jimmy fidgeted. "Yes, but—"

"Have you ever knocked his books out of his hands, or taken lunch money from him?"

"Yes, but—"

"Have you ever shoved him or hit him?"

"Yes, b-but—"

Mrs. Elder shook her head. "I will hear _no _buts from you, young man. I'm afraid I'm going to have to assign you to detention for the rest of the semester. I'll also be making a call to your mother and asking her to come in." As Mrs. Elder went to pick up the phone, she smiled at Papa Garcia and Logan. "Thank you both for bringing this to my attention. I'll take it from here."

Papa Garcia stood and shook Mrs. Elder's hand. Then he turned to Jimmy, who tried to keep steady under Papa Garcia's strong, steady gaze. "I want to hear an apology to Logan, young man," he demanded in a clear, authoritative voice.

Jimmy looked from Papa Garcia to Mrs. Elder. "I think that's exactly what you should do," Mrs. Elder agreed, folding her hands on her desk again. "Jimmy?"

Looking like he'd rather swallow a live bug, Jimmy turned his face slowly to Logan. Logan tried not to cower under the hateful look. "I'm sorry, Logan," Jimmy choked out.

Logan opened his mouth to try to accept the apology. He stood there for a few seconds, struggling, and then just bolted from the office. Papa Garcia came close on his heels.

"Hey, hey, hey, Logan," Papa Garcia said in a calming voice as he grabbed Logan's arm to stop him. He sat Logan down on a bench in the hallway and kneeled in front of him. "It's okay, all right? He's never going to bother you again. I promise."

Logan nodded, gulping in air as he tried not to cry. Papa Garcia wrapped him in a big hug. "I will never let anyone hurt you, okay?" Papa Garcia told him. "You're my boy as much as Carlos is. I love you."

"I love you too, Papa Garcia," Logan said.

_Seventh Grade_

Logan sat in his driveway, frustrated as all else. His bike chain had come off and he was trying to fix it. Unfortunately, he had absolutely no clue what he was doing.

He heard a car door close and turned to see the Knight's minivan at the curb. Mama Knight and Papa Knight both got out, in addition to Kendall and Katie. "Hey Logan!" Kendall called, running over to him.

"Hey," Logan answered. "What're you doing here?"

"Your mom invited us to dinner," Mama Knight explained, taking six-year-old Katie's hand.

"What are you doing there, kiddo?" Papa Knight asked, walking up to Logan's little work spot.

"I'm trying to fix the chain on my bike," Logan told him, wiping his greasy hands on his jeans. "I don't know how though."

Papa Knight squatted down to inspect the bike. "Well I can show you, really easy. Kendall can help, can't you?"

"Yup," Kendall said proudly.

"That's okay, I can do it…" Logan said hesitantly. He wanted help but he wasn't sure if Papa Knight should be the one to do it. Not anymore.

Mama Knight seemed to agree with him. "Trey, are you sure you should be doing that?" Mama Knight asked worriedly. "The doctor…"

"The doctor said nothing about fixing a bike, Jennifer," Papa Knight waved off. "In fact, the doctor said to 'continue as normally as you can.'" He smiled at Mama Knight. "Why don't you head on inside? We'll be in in a little bit."

Mama Knight sighed and took Katie inside. Papa Knight adjusted his baseball cap that was hiding his bald head, and began to show Logan exactly how to fix the bike, Kendall helping out when needed.

Soon, the bike was good as new. "Wow, thanks, Papa Knight," Logan said. "I thought it'd never be fixed."

"Hey, kid, you know if you ever need anything fixed you only have to let me know," Papa Knight insisted. "I run a garage—I know how to fix a fair few things."

Logan nodded. Papa Knight was indeed the Mr. Fix-It of the dads, but he'd been hesitant in asking him for any help. Ever since Kendall's dad had been diagnosed with leukemia, Logan hadn't been sure exactly how to act. He'd seen Papa Knight sick and weak in the past year, but recently he'd been looking so much better. Maybe he was all right after all.

He hoped that was true. He couldn't lose one of his dads. "Thanks Papa Knight," Logan said again, surprising the man with a quick hug. "I love you."

Papa Knight smiled and hugged Logan back. "I love you too kiddo."

_Ninth Grade_

Logan sighed as he sat at the Diamond's kitchen table, his math homework laid out in front of him. Normally he was so good at math, but this year it had gotten much more difficult. He was in the advanced classes, but it appeared that he wasn't advanced enough.

James was in the den watching television. He'd tried helping Logan, but it had been hopeless—James was nowhere near as good at math as Logan was, so something that was stumping Logan was impossible for James to grasp. Logan sighed again angrily and flung his pencil away from him.

"Well that was a big sigh," Michael Diamond commented, as he walked into the room from his study. He picked up Logan's pencil from where it had rolled onto the ground and handed it back to Logan, who took it meekly. Papa Diamond then sat in the chair next to Logan. "What's so frustrating, Logan?"

Logan gestured to his math homework. "I don't get this," he complained vaguely. "All of these shapes and angles. It's too hard."

"I doubt it's too hard for a smart kid like you to learn, Logan," Papa Diamond smiled. "So geometry huh? Already?"

"I'm in advanced math," Logan mumbled.

"I believe it. You're a smart kid Logan."

"I'm not smart enough to figure this out," he said hopelessly, gesturing at the papers filled with eraser smudges.

Papa Diamond glanced at a few of the problems. "You know, I bet you're really good at algebra and equations, aren't you Logan?"

"Yeah," Logan agreed. "That stuff's really easy. How'd you know?"

"Well, they say if you're good at algebra, geometry is hard for you. Or if you're good at geometry, algebra is hard." Papa Diamond shrugged. "It's an odd little thing that always seems to be true."

"Then I'll never get it," Logan murmured sadly.

"Now, I didn't say that," Papa Diamond objected. "I said it would be harder. I didn't say it was impossible, did I?" Logan shook his head and Papa Diamond smiled. "Fortunately, I happen to know a thing or two about geometry. How about we tackle this together?"

With Papa Knight's help, Logan slowly managed to grasp the concept of angles, shapes, and all of their lengths. The numbers stopped swimming around in Logan's head and finally were written down on the paper correctly. When he had written down the last answer, Logan looked at Papa Diamond with a huge smile. "How'd you get so good at geometry, Papa Diamond?"

"Well, kiddo, shapes and angles are good things for architects to know," Papa Diamond answered with a laugh.

James walked in. "Logan, have you finished yet?"

Logan smiled proudly. "Yup. Your dad helped me."

"So can we go to the arcade?" James asked, looking hopeful. "Kendall and Carlos just texted me and they said that _cute _new girl is there."

Papa Diamond laughed. "Yup, you're my son all right. You guys have fun. Be back in time for dinner!" he called after them as the guys raced to the door. "Love you both!"

"Love you too!" James and Logan both called as they went out the door and got on their bikes, riding away.

_Present Day_

"Logan?" Jess prompted. "Well?"

"You don't have to answer right now," Kendall suggested. "If you need time to think about it."

"No," Logan said. "Jess, tell them…it's the same as I've said before. I had a dad. I was lucky enough to have three dads. And a great mom. And three other amazing moms. And three brothers who mean the world to me. I'm so lucky for what I have, that I never had time to focus on what I didn't have." Logan smiled at the other three guys. "Thanks, guys," he suddenly thanked them.

"For what?" Carlos asked.

"For…sharing with me," he said simply. The other guys smiled. They all understood. They always understood each other.

Logan turned back to the speaker phone. "It was hard before I had these guys," he admitted. "But after that it was great. And now Chris is here and it's even better. I don't like to spend time focusing on the past. I want to look forward to my future."

"Great quote, Logan," Jess complimented. "I'll call back those editors, and hopefully this will be the end of all the daddy talk." With a quick goodbye, Jess hung up.

Kelly grabbed her iPhone from the coffee table. "If you guys have reached a good stopping point, you can go ahead and head home," she told them. "This drama ate up most of the afternoon anyway."

The guys all mumbled thanks and packed up their stuff. As they left Roque Records and headed for the car, Logan smiled and threw an arm around both Carlos and Kendall. "You guys really are the greatest, you know that?" he commented.

The guys all exchanged looks. "Yeah, we know," James replied. They all laughed.

"You're the greatest too, Logan," Carlos told him. "We wouldn't be anything without you."

"I wouldn't be anything without my brothers," Logan murmured, and smiled at his friends again. "Race ya to the car!"

The four boys all broke out running towards the BTR mobile, laughing the whole way.

**P.S. Check out the trailer for my next upcoming fanfic! Copy and paste the link to your web browser!**

watch?v=reAS1jKS2qg


	13. Chapter 13

**The end has come to us my friends.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Big Time Rush or any of its characters.**

"Logan!" The brunette looked up to see Chris walking across the park to where Logan was waiting for him at one of the tables. Logan smiled and waved.

Chris took a seat across from Logan. "Hey, I'm sorry about those articles, kid," Chris apologized before even saying hello. "I tried to avoid the photographers, but shit, they are _persistent. _How do you handle that every day?"

Logan shrugged. "It's part of my job, I guess. Plus, we've got Freight Train whenever it gets too intense. But I don't blame you for that, Chris; I should have known they'd notice you sooner or later."

Shaking his head, Chris sighed. "Well…I asked you to meet me here to let you know…I'm leaving."

Logan felt his chest tighten. "You're…I'm sorry?"

"I've gotta go home, I mean," Chris quickly clarified. "God, no, I'm not leaving your _life_, not when I just got back into it." Logan sighed with relief and Chris continued. "I've already been here for more than a week. I cashed in all of my vacation time to come out here, but it's just about up."

"Yeah…" Logan murmured. "I guess I didn't think about you having to go home ever."

"I know," Chris agreed. "I wish I didn't have to, but…well, I've got a life back in Oklahoma. I'll call you, and I'll come back and visit when I can. Maybe you can even come visit me sometime—my buddies would love to meet you, kid."

Logan nodded. "When do you go home?"

"I've got a flight booked for tomorrow," Chris told him. When Logan only nodded and looked at the table, Chris leaned forward. "You trust me to come back, don't you?"

Logan hesitated. "I…I guess it's just kind of terrifying," Logan admitted. "The last time you left, it took you seventeen years. I just…I don't want to lose my dad for a second time."

Chris placed his hand on top of Logan's. "Kid, I'm not leaving your life. You should fully expect regular phone calls demanding updates on your life. I'm past the days of googling your name to find out what you're up to, you hear?"

Logan smiled. "I hear you, Dad."

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

_September 14, that year._

Logan slipped his arm around Camille's waist as they walked down the hall towards the crib. "You know, I've had a lot of fun this afternoon," he commented. "We went to the beach, window shopped, even went to the arcade. And I can't for the life of me figure out why you were so insistent that we spend the _entire afternoon _away from the apartment. I mean, it's like you were trying to distract me or something." Logan looked at Camille with a mock questioning expression, his eyes wide and "innocent" looking.

Camille groaned. "You know about the party, don't you?"

"Camille. Please. Carlos can't keep a secret. He's mentioned it twice in front of me, and last night he tried to hide the decorations in the bathroom—in _my _cabinet." Logan laughed.

"Nooo," she moaned, coming to a stop in front of the door. She turned to face Logan and put her hands on his chest. "At least _act _surprised, okay? The guys think you have no idea and they're really excited."

Logan wrapped his arms around his beautiful girlfriend. "Of course," he murmured, leaning in close to kiss her.

She offered him only a quick, chaste peck before she wiggled out of his arms and went to open the door. Giving a disappointed sigh, Logan straightened his shoulders and prepared for his surprise party.

"Gee, I wonder where everyone is?" Camille wondered out loud as she opened the door. She flipped on the lights.

"_SURPRISE!"_ Logan jumped back in pretend surprise as all of his friends jumped out from behind furniture. His grin was very genuine as he laughed and looked around. There were the Jennifers, Buddha Bob, Jo, Mama Knight and Katie, and the guys, who were all quickly approaching him.

"You guys did this for me?" Logan asked.

Kendall threw an arm around Logan's shoulders. "Happy eighteenth birthday, Logan!"

"Were you surprised?" Carlos asked excitedly.

"So surprised," Logan lied smoothly, and smiling at his friend's happy reaction.

"I bet you'll be even more surprised in a minute," James said slyly as someone turned on the music and the party guests started dancing and mingling.

"Why's that?" Logan asked, now genuinely confused.

Someone covered his eyes from behind. "Guess who, Logie bear?"

Logan felt a new grin, bigger than ever, fly on his face. "Mom!" he exclaimed, turning quickly to face her. Yup, there she was, grinning just as wide as him. He hugged her tightly. "Wow, I can't believe you're here! I haven't seen you since-."

"Since the tour stopped in Minnesota in August? I know," Joanna said with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you were supposed to be skyping me every Sunday."

"Yeeah, well…I skyped you last Sunday."

Joanna smiled and shook her head. "Oh, I'm not going to lecture you on your birthday, sweetie," she told him, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Well I don't know, maybe he deserves it." Logan felt his eyes widen as he turned to see someone else standing behind him now. "He hasn't exactly called me recently either."

"Chris!" Logan exclaimed. Chris Mitchell smiled and held open his arms for a hug, which Logan gave him, quickly. "You're here!"

"Of course I'm here!" Chris laughed. "It's not every day a man's son turns eighteen…and the last birthday of yours that I was at was the original so…I can't exactly afford to miss anymore, can I?"

Logan looked at his friends, who were all smiling gleefully. "Did you guys know they were coming? I had no idea!"

"Of course we did!" Kendall replied. "What, think we can't keep a secret?"

"We kept the party a secret didn't we?" Carlos said smugly.

James and Kendall exchanged a look. "Yeah, Carlos, he totally knew about the party," James said bluntly.

"Aw," Carlos sighed. "I knew it."

Logan shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry buddy."

"Buuut, we managed to keep these guys secret, mainly by not telling Carlos that they were coming until today," Kendall explained.

"You guys are the best," Logan told them, a smile on his face as his mom put her arm around his shoulder.

Jo came up to them then and took Kendall's hand. "Happy birthday Logan," she said with a smile.

"Thanks, Jo," Logan replied. He saw Kendall squeeze Jo's hand and look longingly at the dance floor. "Hey, everyone should go have fun. Dance!" The guys didn't need to be told twice. They all disappeared.

Logan talked with his parents for a few minutes before a slow song came on the stereo. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Camille swaying with her arms behind her back, pointedly not looking in Logan's direction. He excused himself and went over to her. "May I have this dance?" he asked smoothly, holding out his hand.

Camille smiled gleefully. "Heck yeah," she agreed, and Logan spun her before wrapping his arms around her waist. Camille draped her arms over his shoulders, letting one hand explore the hair on the back of his head.

Logan tore his eyes away from Camille for a few seconds to look around. There was Kendall dancing with Jo, Mama Knight with Buddha Bob, Carlos with Stephanie (who had gotten back from the film shoot a few weeks earlier), James with some blonde, and…

He felt his heart skip a beat and his breath catch in his throat. His eyes went wide and he stopped swaying to the music. Camille noticed. "Logan, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. She followed his gaze, and was also surprised. "Is that…"

"My mom and dad dancing together," Logan croaked out.

There they were. Joanna and Chris Mitchell, swaying to the music with their arms around each other just like everyone else in the room. Logan wasn't sure if he was going to have a panic attack or not. He took a few deep breaths and tore his eyes away from the two of them.

"Logan, are you okay?" Camille asked him.

"I'm great," he smiled. Camille didn't seem convinced. "No, honestly. I'm eighteen. I have both of my parents. It doesn't matter whether they're divorced or together. It matters that I have both of them in my life."

Camille smiled. "Logan Mitchell, that is one of the most mature things I have ever heard you say," she told him as he put his arms back around her waist and they resumed dancing.

"Hey, I'm really mature," Logan objected.

"Okay," Camille snickered. Logan thought about fighting the point but just decided to let her win. Instead he kissed her, making up for the one he had missed out on outside the party.

~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~BTR~~~~~~

"Okay, one…two…three…cheese!" Mama Knight snapped a picture of Logan, Kendall, James, and Carlos all sitting on the sofa, with their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. The party had ended, and only Logan's parents remained there with the residents of apartment 2J. Mama Knight was continuing the tradition of birthday pictures that had been going on since the guys were little.

"Is that all, Mom?" Kendall complained. "You've been taking pictures forever!"

Mama Knight pursed her lips. "Oh please, I've only taken three. There's just one more."

"Only one?" Logan asked, as the guys got up from the couch. He looked at his parents.

"Only one," Joanna repeated, as she and Chris sat on either side of Logan. He felt his heart rate quicken with excitement. His face shone as he smiled for the picture. For the first time in his life, he was about to have a picture with his mom _and _his dad.

As he sat there, between them, the grin lighting up his face, he thought about how lucky he was. There, on his left, was his mom. She had been there for him forever. Literally for his forever. She'd done everything in the world to make his life easier and happy. And he couldn't imagine life without his mom.

And on his right was Chris. His dad. He hadn't been there. For seventeen years he'd been gone. But now, here he was. It was hard for Logan to wrap his head around still. A year ago, if you'd told him that he'd meet his dad and they'd be friends, he'd have laughed and told you that you were crazy.

But now…here it was. It was definitely possible. It didn't seem like it could be, but it was. Sure, they had missed seventeen years of father/son relationship, but the friendship that had grown between the two of them was already strong. And Chris was more than willing to do all he could to make up for lost time. In addition to the week and a half he'd spent in California in June, he and Logan had regularly talked on the phone, had some skype conversations, and Logan had even crashed at Chris's house when the band had been in Oklahoma City for their four-week American tour in August. It seemed impossible, but…they were friends.

Before Chris had come, Logan had wanted things to never change. He wanted it to be him and his mom. He didn't think he needed a dad. Well, he didn't _need _one. In fact, he had plenty of father figures to look up to. But to have someone to look in the eyes and call "Dad" (if only on rare occasion)…it was something else.

It was something Logan had never had—and now he never wanted to lose.

**So I know I'm **_**terrible **_**at endings, but I actually thought it was rather sweet! Thanks for enjoying this story with me! Please keep an eye out for my next fanfic, coming soon! Check out my profile page where you can vote on story ideas and also view the trailer for my upcoming story!**


End file.
